It's been a few months but I've finally returned and I think I'm ready to start writing again. The quality of my writing should be better from now on. My memory is fuzzy on some things so tell me if I do something inconsistent

"My name is Adonai. I've come to give you some reassurance. I can guarantee that Menma won't try to go to the past."-Adonai.

Nero eased up a little and asked, "Just what is your relationship with Menma?" Adonai responded, "Think of me like a guide, I've been watching over him ever since he came to this village. I'm going to ensure that he takes down all of the threats on his journey."

Nero peered his eyes at the elderly man before him, his overwhelming support for Menma almost seems suspicious. Nero decided to ask him something else, "So I'm curious. Just what exactly are you?"

Adonai gave him a knowing grin as if he knew he would ask him that. He stretches out his hand for Nero to grab it. Adonai's warning presence made Nero feel a strange sense of tranquility and he gave him his hand. All of a sudden the room around them changed to what seemed to be the cosmos. Around him he saw nebulas, stars, planets, and the black space that stretched out of his sight infinitely. Adonai asked him, "What do you think we're looking at right now?"

Nero got over his shock and rubbed his neck curious as to how he was breathing. "I just granted you the ability to breath in space, that's all." Nero finally answered his question, "This is the universe."

Adonai corrected him, "Correction, this is my universe, one of an infinite amount." Nero's eyes widened as he suddenly realized who he was speaking to. He blurted out, "You are"- he was cut off by a finger to his mouth. "Correct."

Nero looked back towards the cosmos and started going over it over and over in his head before he finally asked, "Out of all the people in your multiverse, why did you choose to help Menma? Do you have a goal in mind?"

Adonai quickly responded with, "Someone that is part of a polytheistic mythology I created has decided to meddle in the lives of your people. In this whole universe there's no group of people that have more energy than yours, and he wants to add that to his own power. So right now your world is in a cycle where if anyone dies they'll go directly to him and there souls will be sucked dry till they're no more."

Nero was suddenly angered, "Why don't you do something about it then?!" Adonai gave him a solemn look, "As God I have my own rules I'm bound by. I don't like seeing my children suffer, but a God can only create, they cannot interfere with what they've already created, I can only destroy it or make very small changes. That's why I want Menma, I know that he's capable of a job similar to my own, and someone that is created by God or becomes one can interfere with whatever they wish."

Nero calmed down, "Humans love the idea of becoming God, when in reality God has less free will than humans... alright Adonai, I'll give the missing page to Menma." Adonai nods and sends him back.

Nero returned to the now empty room he was in just a minute ago and he reached in his pocket and pulled out the last piece of paper that was missing from the folder. He exits the room and starts heading towards Nozomi's room since that's where Menma said he would be.

Once he arrived at the door he stopped right outside of it as he heard something. "Try not to think about it, I'm just helping however way I can." Nozomi replied, "Fine, but-but don't get the wrong idea f-from this!" Nero opened the door and was surprised at the sight he saw. It looks like Menma is helping Nozomi put a bra on. Everyone is left speechless as they all stare at each other until Nozomi screams at the top of her lungs and Mina and Suigetsu arrive quickly. Menma quickly tries to defuse the situation as Suigetsu and Mina give the same look. "I know what you're thinking but it isn't what it looks like!"-Menma.

All three of them nod and Nero says, "Yes we understand what's happening." Menma lets out a relieved sigh and says "I'm glad you understand," Suigetsu says, "Yeah we understand, you're trying to get a piece of her before you turn 18." Menma quickly blurts out "THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M DOING AT ALL!!!" Mina quickly gasps, "You're gonna keep on doing it even after you're 18? Didn't know you were into that Menma." Nozomi but in this time, "That's not what's happening at all!! It's just that... I've been growing recently and I'm not used to a bra yet, so I needed help putting it on," Nozomi states shyly.

The three of them quickly erased the misunderstanding from their mind and their dirty thoughts disappeared. Nero asked, "Ah I see, shouldn't you have Mina do that thought? Menma is a guy so he might get some ideas... you know," Menma was gonna say something but Nozomi spoke first, "Menma is completely trustworthy! He'd never do something so provocative, he's not Suigetsu." This caused everyone except Suigetsu to giggle, "Hey why am I getting attacked now?"

Nero steps towards them, "Well it's alright, I just came here to give you something, Menma." Nero hands Menma a folded piece of paper and his eyes open slightly when he opens it. "This is..." Nero finishes for him, "This is the missing page from the folder. This should help you come up with the technique you need. Sorry that I kept it from you."

Menma thanked him and they all left the room. Menma sighed and looked back at Nozomi and told her, "It was nice to just sit down and talk for once, but I should finish my work now." Nozomi waved bye as he left and asked him, "Menma... can you come here for breakfast in the morning too?" Menma just smiled and nodded before continuing his travel back to his room.

Menma arrived at his room and sat on his bed. He started thinking, 'Hmmm, I wonder what Nozomi would think of my normal way of fighting, now that I think about how she's never seen me in a fight before... speaking of fights, those 3 brothers I fought were strange. Just like Kabuto they were completely loyal to him without being threatened in some way, but they seemed much more pure-hearted than Kabuto. Almost like...'

Northern Hideout

Due to these 3 sons of his, he's once again feeling emotions he's never felt before. He suspected it was grief he was feeling. Although he got one thing wrong, he felt these emotions, although these memories were suppressed. Orochimaru didn't really care about the past but he decided to try and remember against his better judgment.

After digging through his own head for what seemed like hours he finally remembered what he had buried in the deep recesses of his mind since he was 11.

Orochimaru's Secret Past

10 year old Orochimaru has been living in a more poor part of Konoha, but he was still happy, most of the time that is. He walked down a street and sat on a bench at a park as he looked at the other kids playing. His small dog Aoimaru came out of his kimono and he giggled a little as he started petting it. He couldn't really play with the other kids, the ghost white skin and snake like eyes scared other kids. Although this made him a perceptive observer of life, he could soon read people just from a single action they do.

There were some kids that verbally bullied him, and he could read their motive behind the action. Sometimes it was the case of a lack of attention due to not having any standout features and/or needing some sense of validation. It could also just be the way someone decides to enjoy their time, sometimes they're too oblivious to realize what they're doing. There is a 3rd type of person but he hasn't seen it in anyone but one person. He was a social outcast, but he had his dog. At least this is how it was when he wasn't home.

When he got home he had a father who fit the criteria for the third type of person. And that type of person is the one that hurts people for no real reason, it's just because they can. Orochimaru couldn't read his own father, all he knew was that his father was disgusted by him.

Orochimaru has been keeping his dog a secret from his dad as a fear from how he would react. It had been working for a week until his dog followed him home one day. His father asked him, "Is this your dog?" Orochimaru stayed silent and kept his head down, he didn't want to respond in fear of what might happen next. His father slammed his hand on the desk and asked him the same question again, "Is this your dog?"

Orochimaru only nodded in response. He could sense a build up in his father's chakra and he realized what was gonna happen, but before he could stop what would happen it was too late and his father swiftly killed it in one strike. It was a single clean blow. Orochimaru naturally started screaming and crying and all his father said was, "We're poor, I don't need a leech like you bringing in more leeches to make us even more poor."

Orochimaru's screams of grieve quickly turned to anger and he rushed towards his father to attack him? His father grinned and kicked him right in the gut, before slamming his face back down into the floor. "That's the spirit, attack me like a man!"

Orochimaru's anger quickly subsided and his father noticed this and let him go with a disappointed look. He started walking away but his son asked, "How?" His father turned his head back in his direction and responded with, "Huh?" Orochimaru with anger still on his face continued, "How can you act like this all the time?!? You're supposed to be my dad! All you do is punch, kick, choke, and throw me! And if you aren't beating me you're verbally putting me down! What did I do to deserve this?! Is it because of the way I look?!? I DIDN'T ASK TO BE THIS WAY!! Why can't you just love me!?! I did nothing wrong! I haven't given you trouble, I've stayed out of your way, I don't even eat much to preserve food, I've done everything myself because you told me not to be a bother for people, and I'm trying to get good grades so I can guarantee I'll make a lot of money! So how dad??! How can you be this way?!" Orochimaru finally finished and he was breathing heavily with tears flowing down his face. His father just looked at him with a blank expression before walking away.

Orochimaru's head fell and he picked up his dog with the intent of burying him. Once again Orochimaru was left alone. His only light in life now was his mom, she was the only other person that really loved him. Orochimaru cradled in his mom's arms later that night. As Orochimaru cried he asked his mom, "Mom, why is dad like this? Why can't he just love me like you?"

His mom was wondering what she should say, she eventually answered, "I regret getting with that man, even before we got together I could sense there was something wrong with him, but I couldn't see the signs at the time... your father's horrible, don't pay attention to him, soon we'll be able to get away from him."

Orochimaru looked up at his mom and asked, "Really?" His mom nodded in response and said, "He treats me worse than you... I don't know what I would do without you, don't listen to what your father says about being useless and a bother to the world. You're the only thing that's been keeping me going this whole time." Orochimaru smiles and says, "I don't think I've done all that"- But his mom cuts him off and kisses his forehead. She whispers in his ear "You're my light, don't ever forget that. Just bear with it a little longer, this torment we've been going through will be over soon."

Orochimaru's 11th birthday came around two days later and his father surprisingly wanted to take him somewhere. He got a boat and they both went out onto a lake. Orochimaru was smarter than most children his age, but as a child he has a natural naive hope that his father is good in some way, and he also believed he was starting to like him now.

They stopped rowing and his father looked into the water and told him, "You should learn to swim." Orochimaru gave him a questioning look. His father sighed and said, "Did I stutter? You want to be more useful don't you? Well then you should learn to swim. The best way is experience. Orochimaru tried to protest but his father got frustrated and picked him up before tossing him into the water. Orochimaru was already having difficulties and he wasn't making any progress at all. Water got in his mouth and he begged his father to help him but he simply stared at him like he was waiting for him to save himself. Eventually Orochimaru lost his strength and started losing consciousness, as he started falling deeper and deeper into the water he saw his father sigh in disappointment before rowing away. It was at this moment he realized that his father isn't someone that can be saved, he's a psychopath with no regard for rules that only believes in doing what you want.

When Orochimaru woke back up he coughed out water and heard a voice, "Are you okay?" He looked towards the voice and saw a white haired boy the same age as him with mostly gray clothes, long white hair, and a red mark under each eye. Orochimaru stared at him in silence. The boy blushed a little and he asked again, "Yooooo, are you okay?"

Orochimaru nodded his head and the boy smiled and asked, "What's your name miss?" Orochimaru got confused for a second and told him, "I'm a boy." Jiraiya froze for a whole minute as his brain processed what he just heard. His blush eventually disappeared and he reeled back screaming, "Y-You're a boy??? You're prettier than Tsunade-chan!" Jiraiya also realized he performed CPR by pressing his lips on another boy. He quickly started trying to rub it off his lips in a comical manner.

Orochimaru tilted his head and asked, "Who's that?" Jiraiya shook his head and regained his composure. "Nevermind, that's not important. How did you end up here?" Orochimaru's head fell as he remembered what happened. Remembering it caused him to cry which worried Jiraiya and made him a little more serious. Jiraiya put a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder and asked again, "Hey, what happened?"

Orochimaru shook his head because he didn't want to be trouble for other people. He struggled to stand up and he replied with, "It's nothing." Jiraiya grabbed his wrist and asked the same question a third time, "How did this happen to you?"

Orochimaru wasn't sure how he should respond, he wasn't used to having anyone besides his mother really care about his struggles. Orochimaru sat back down and started explaining everything to him. "Today is my 11th birthday, I wasn't expecting my father to do anything for me because he doesn't care about me. The only things he's referred to me as is boy... but today he invited me out to this lake, I thought he was gonna start being a good father, but..." Orochimaru started balling up as his eyes started welling up. He clenched his fist and finished, "He just took me out here to drown me, he made it sound like swimming practice."

Jiraiya for the first time in his life felt genuine anger, but he swallowed it up and stood up and stretched out his hand. Jiraiya told him, "Well why don't I give you a birthday to remember?" Orochimaru looked at him with a confused look. Jiraiya elaborated, "Your day has been horrible so far, a birthday should always be something you look back on as a fond memory. So let me make this the best birthday you've ever had!"

Orochimaru stopped crying and accepted his hand. He smiled and whispered, "Thank you." Jiraiya's smile widened and he replied, "No problem, It's my pleasure. Oh yeah, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Jiraiya, what's yours?" Orochimaru answered, "My name is Orochimaru."

"Wow, that's a cool name! Well c'mon friend! We should get going so we can do as much as possible!" Jiraiya announced. Orochimaru stayed frozen for a minute processing what he just heard as Jiraiya started walking ahead. 'Did he say... friend?' Orochimaru thought. Jiraiya stopped walking and looked back at Orochimaru. He asked, "What are you waiting for?" Orochimaru snapped out of it and started following Jiraiya with a smile, "I'm coming!" Jiraiya didn't know this, but this was already the best day of Orochimaru's life.

They went ahead and did a lot of things, they went to restaurants, played games, they even met Tsunade at one point. Although all good things must come to an end and Orochimaru eventually had to go back home. They 3 of them finished the game of tag they were playing and Orochimaru said, "It's getting really late, I should probably go back home now."

He started leaving but Jiraiya stopped and proposed, "How about you sleep over at my place?" Orochimaru stuttered, "A s-sleepover?" Jiraiya nodded and Orochimaru thought about it. Jiraiya continued, "When I said I wanted to make this the best day of your life I was talking about all 24 hours of the day, We can continue the fun if you come over!"

Orochimaru thought about it and eventually nodded. Jiraiya beamed with happiness. He walked over to Tsunade and said, "You should come too! It'll be more fun that way!" Tsunade reeled back a little. She replied, "Sleepover at your place? You might try something in my sleep!"

Orochimaru laughed and Jiraiya gained a slightly serious expression and simply said, "Please." Tsunade stayed silent for a moment before giving in and saying, "Alright then. Orochimaru, make sure he doesn't try anything while I sleep, alright?" Orochimaru nodded, not being sure what she meant.

They all went to Jiraiya's house and they did things like playing more games, listening to Jiraiya's stories, and other things. Jiraiya finished off his last story with, "And that's how I beat someone even the 7th Hokage couldn't!" Tsunade had a look of confusion the entire time he told the story while Orochimaru had a look of awe. Tsunade blurted out, "You idiot! There isn't even a 3rd Hokage yet! What do you mean 7th?!?" Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and replied with, "I had a dream about it. I'm sure that it was a precognitive dream so technically it was true."

Tsunade still had a confused look on her face and huffed while whispering to herself, "What an idiot." Orochimaru laughed at their little squabble. Jiraiya yawned and announced, "Well I'm tired, I guess we should sleep now.

Orochimaru's day was finally over, Orochimaru started to look back on everything that happened today. Jiraiya was about to turn off the lights, but he noticed Orochimaru was crying. "Is there a problem Orochimaru?" Tsunade blurted out. Orochimaru shook his head and smiled, "No... I think these are happy tears. Orochimaru started performing the most respectful form of the bow. The Zarei bow. He stated, "Thank you, for everything... both of you! This really has been the best day of my life!"

Tsunade wasn't sure how to respond so she just smiled like Jiraiya. That day was the first and last time Orochimaru felt true happiness.

In the morning Orochimaru headed towards his house and the air already felt ominous. He walked inside and looked around but no one was home. However he did see blood on the floor, the blood led outside. He started following the trail.

The trail was long, he felt more and more uneasy as he continued following the path of blood. Although eventually the blood stopped and he looked around. Far off he saw a ditch, he walked towards the ditch and what he found left him in an indescribable state.

He found his mother's torn up dead body in the ditch, and from the looks of it she died just recently. Orochimaru had a breakdown. He started breathing heavily, he got on his knees cause his legs felt like Jelly, and his eyes were as wide as possible. He instinctively started screaming and wailing as tears flooded out of his eyes like flood gates. He didn't know how long he was there, he cried so much that his eyes were dry and he felt dehydrated, and he screamed so much that he couldn't make a sound anymore and he felt like his vocal cords were permanently damaged. Some time in the middle of all his screaming he couldn't hear anything anymore.

Eventually he stopped and came back to reality. An emotionless expression coated his face and he started walking back home. Once he arrived there he saw a woman walking out of his house. Judging off the way she looked and her eyes he could tell what happened. He walked up behind her and tapped on her back.

She turned around looking at the child and he asked her, "What is your relationship with my dad?" She laughed him off and just said, "Go back home kid." But before she could leave he gripped her by the throat and brought her down to his level. He unconsciously learned something that the academy didn't teach him about chakra, and that was how to produce killing intent. He released all of this on her and the terror it caused her to feel made her submit instantly. "He's just a work partner! And he's been flirting with me for a long time and he finally made a move and I couldn't resist!" Orochimaru peered his eyes and asked, "Did you know he was married?" The woman shook her head and Orochimaru was satisfied with his answer and he let her go. She didn't waste her chance and she started running away instantly. As she was running Orochimaru told her, "Tell your boss that he quit his job."

Orochimaru started heading back in the direction of his house. He looked at his hand under the moonlight and he thought about just how easy it would have been to kill her, although killing for no reason is something he never wants to do.

He reached his home and walked inside. He found his father in the kitchen and his dad saw him. Orochimaru asked him directly, "Why did you kill mom?" His father found his reaction off putting but he answered nonetheless, "Well when you didn't come home she was irate and wouldn't stop yelling at me, she even attacked me at some point, so I had to put her down. Although it seems like you survived, so good job... son. Are you finally a real man now?" Orochimaru gritted his teeth and was seething with anger. He asked him, "Why would you kill her over something as petty as that?!"

His father sighed and told him, "It's not something you would be able to understand. Once you become a man you'll understand perfectly. Now c'mon, don't get so emotional about it. Showing emotions is just a sign of weakness. Aren't you supposed to be a ninja?"

Orochimaru had enough of this and charged in to attack him with all his built up wrath. The first time he attacked him he didn't know how to utilize chakra, but Tsunade helped him with that so now he has a fighting chance. He charged right at his father. His father was expecting it to go just like last time, but both he and Orochimaru were surprised when Orochimaru landed a punch before his father could react. Although Orochimaru didn't stay shocked for long and he instantly started assaulting his father with blows over and over, it was the best feeling ever. His father tried to match blows with him but his punches were either too weak to pass his chakra defense or Orochimaru dodged his strikes.

Eventually he collapsed but he grinned, "Well look at you, go ahead kill me already. I'm glad you're becoming a man just like I wanted! One who will do whatever they want and"- he was cut off when Orochimaru punched him in the throat which made him struggle to breath. Orochimaru stated, "Don't misunderstand what killing you means. The world is better off without you, and I'm not killing a human, I'm killing a monster." Those were Orochimaru's last words before he let out all of his anger and started assaulting his father's face with blow after blow. He yelled the whole time and he didn't know he long he assaulted him. He forgot at which point that his dad stopped struggling as he straddled his motionless body while assaulting it. He punched him till his hands were broken and his father's face was no more.

Outside of Orochimaru's house was Hiruzen who was gonna arrive after Jiraiya pleaded with him. When Hiruzen walked in he was horrified by the sight he saw and he put the pale boy in the room to sleep. Orochimaru's last thought before falling into a deep slumber that would last a week was, 'Human life really is fragile, it can be snuffed out so easily. Even I can be a victim to this.'

The next year a 12 year old Orochimaru was visiting his parents grave. A lot has happened since then and Orochimaru had forgotten all about the events of his life before meeting Hiruzen. His mind blocked them out to prevent Orochimaru from becoming broken, but it still left a mark on his psyche. Before leaving his parents grave he saw a white snake slither by. It somehow reminded him of fortune and rebirth, and this has developed his life goal.

Northern Hideout

Orochimaru smirked as he remembered everything that happened in his life. Orochimaru said to himself, "That really was the best day of my life... maybe everything I've been doing has been..."

Pokanto Mountain The Next Day

Menma opened the door to Nozomi's room and saw her silhouette behind a folding screen. She poked her head out to see who it was and smiled when she saw Menma. "What's that you got there?" She asked. Menma sat down the food on a coffee table and answered, "You wanted me to come here for breakfast so I brought food for both of us."

Nozomi finished getting dressed and stepped out from behind the folding screen. Her mouth watered a little seeing the food. "How did you know what my most favorite food was?" She asked ogling at the perfectly made waffles on a plate as her tail involuntarily twitched slightly.

Menma simply replied, "I went through your diary about a week ago." Nozomi reeled back in surprise. "You went through my stuff!? Ahh! Idiot! Jerk! Pervert!" Menma wasn't sure how to react as she hurled insults at him so he maintained a shocked expression. Eventually he just chuckled a little and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I just wanted to get to know you better," he told her with an unintentionally charming expression.

She stopped hurling Insults and blushed. She looked away and stuttered out in a low tone, "You can just-just come to me directly i-if you want to know more about me." She thought to herself, 'The way Menma's been acting has been making me feel strange.' It was Menma's turn to blush this time as he thought, 'It's been awhile since I've had this feeling.'

Nozomi looked back at Memna and noticed he was blushing which just made her blush harder and she looked down. She never saw Menma blush before and she started playing with her hands. She whispered in a nearly inaudible tone, "D-don't stare at me like that." Menma had only one thing on his mind at this moment, 'How can something this cute possibly exist?!?' Menma passed out.

Nozomi quickly rushed to his side. "Menma?!" She shook him for a while but he wouldn't wake up. She gave up and she heard a knock on the door. She announced, "Come in," and the door slid open to reveal Mina. The scene looked questionable and a little shady to her since Nozomi was sitting on an unconscious Menma.

But she quickly cleared it up, "It's not what it looks like! He said something embarrassing and after I replied he just passed out and I've been trying to wake him up, but he won't wake up." Mina made a o with her mouth. "Ah, I think I get it now, can you show me what you did before he passed out?" Mina asked.

Nozomi wasn't sure why she asked but she tried to get into the same position. She had one arm under her chest with her hand on the other arm under her mouth, she looked down at the ground and blushed again. She repeated, "D-don't stare at me like that." Mina, just like Menma before her had only one thought on her mind, 'How can something this cute possibly exist?!?' Although unlike Menma she didn't pass out. She couldn't resist blushing. 'The cat ears, the tail, the cute cat eyes, the naturally beautiful face! I believe I've discovered peak cuteness, even Menma couldn't resist this!'

Mina got out of her trance and cleared her throat, "He's fine, he was just knocked out from your uhhhh. Cuteness." Nozomi involuntarily blushed once again that day. "I knew he was a pervert!" Was Nozomi's reply. Mina chuckled and picked up Menma's body. "You're such a tsundere," Mina stated. Nozomi quickly blurted out, "Huuuuh? I'm no such thing! I don't like Menma, he's just handsome, and caring, and kind... and uhhh..." the knowing grin on Mina's face annoyed Nozomi. Nozomi let out a frustrated groan and told her, "I can't think of anything negative about him... just go!"

Mina left and took Menma to his room. She sat with him until he woke up and Menma remembered everything. Mina told him, "Menma... you have an opportunity presented before you that you shouldn't waste... you should try to put love before hate. Your goal is important but you should try to find happiness before this unhealthy obsession consumes you... if it comes to that you won't be able to be normal again."

Menma remained silent and Mina left the room. He thought, "So... it's to put Nozomi first, or continue down my current path.' He chuckled to himself. 'I should have known that getting as close with her as I did would cause this.'

Menma knew what he felt, but he tried to forget it. And in a strange form of reluctance he picked up the folders he still hasn't read, and began studying them.