Summary: Konoha's plans for the de-aged missing-nin was to throw him into a juvenile detention hall, where he would age until maturity, and then throw him into prison. That was an incredibly stupid plan that Tsume immediately vetoed. And without really waiting for anyone to open their stupid mouths up in protest, she grabbed the child by the rather frail wrist and pulled him into the safety and loyalty of her pack. Granted, it would take a while for old wounds to heal. But she would make them heal.

Or!

One-shots of a new Konoha wherein Orochimaru's invasion failed, he was reverted back to six years of age, and Tsume proved loyalty was the most important facet of her Will of Fire.

Quick A/N: Tsume's awesome. I had thought about writing a story with this same plot, but with Genma Shiranui as the main character. But then I decided that it was about time I gave Tsume the spotlight all by her awesome lonesome. That is all.

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Tsume was aware of the reputation she had in Konoha. She didn't care for it. But she knew the strength of a reputation.

Orochimaru wasn't old enough to even be considered a threat anymore. His chakra, which had once been powerful and imposing, was faint enough to let Tsume know it was only just beginning to develop. His mind had been reverted along with his body and chakra: this was a child of no more than six years of age. He was saying things that only someone his age would remember from a time long passed. For the first time since he had betrayed the Village, it seemed that Orochimaru had no ill feelings towards his home.

He just wanted to know where his parents were. He wasn't accustomed to being outside of his clan's land without his parents, after all, and he wished to return to his home as quickly as possible.

Poor thing... Even Tsume's stone heart ached upon hearing the truly distressed tone within the kid's voice.

If her old teacher was acting, he had learned the one skill he had never been able to master in the years she had known him: sounding genuinely human in an incredibly vulnerable situation. While the snake bastard she had once called sensei had been a master of illusion, he had never been particularly good at garnering empathy from others by just the tone of his voice. It was hard to make others feel what one barely did, after all.

"Tsume-sama? Where are we going?" the child's hand was frail within her hand. This kid was so thin and wiry, now that she thought about it, it seemed he barely received a proper nutrition. If the rumors of what had once happened to his family were true, then she would not be surprised. Konohagakure was a good village to live in... as long as one belonged to the social class of 'fortunates'.

"My pack. I'm adopting you. I'm sorry to say, kid, but your family's gone."

He had been crying into Kuromaru's fur for the past few minutes. At the reminder of the fate that had befallen his clan, the child sniffled and closed his eyes. But no new tears trailed down his cheeks.

Crying once and moving on: The makings of a true shinobi right there... this guy was bred specifically for war, so she shouldn't be surprised by this. But this kid's reactions were a painful reminder of how much Konoha had fought to stop children from suffering like this.

"Being adopted by an Inuzuka? Are you sure that is prudent? I do not wish to cause any troubles within your clan."

It's too late for that, she thought with chagrin. This guy had messed up so much within her clan by just existing. They had trusted him, all those years ago, when he had still been loyal to their village. His betrayal of the village had not just been a blow to their home; it had been a blow to her whole pack. Some shinobi had even retired, unsure if they would be able to be useful to their home now that they knew they were tainted by having been taught by Konoha's biggest mistake.

Well, if you were to ask Tsume, Orochimaru and his betrayal was only one of Konohagakure's biggest mistakes. There were countless of those, after all. Ranging all the way from their treatment of the last living Hatake members to the treatment of Minato's only son. The Sannin and the disappointments they had become were part of that range, but certainly did not form part of the top mistakes, in her expert opinion.

The number one mistake the village had ever made was not make an Inuzuka Hokage earlier. But if she had her say, that would be a fact that would be changing soon.

But that was a matter to contemplate later on. Right now, she needed to find proper accommodations for the newest addition to her family. And she also needed to think up of proper threats that would put anyone that questioned her decision in their proper place. She was Tsume fucking Inuzuka and she wouldn't tolerate anyone questioning the fact that she decided to take pity on the great traitor that was once her teacher.

Oh, she could already hear the dumb allegations that would fly as soon as others caught wind of what she had just done. The one she couldn't wait to hear so she could laugh in the face of whoever was suicidal enough to tell her this to her face was: "You're only helping him out because he was once your teacher!"

Ooh... if anyone told her that... they would find out just how sentimental she could be.

Back to the matter at hand; Tsume smiled- even though she knew her smiles were interpreted more as vicious smirks than a physical sign of happiness or an action done to try and comfort someone else- and nodded at the child.

From somewhere behind them both, she heard Kuromaru huff in indignation. Tsume rolled her eyes; the mutt could huff and groan all he wanted. She wasn't about to stop and ask for his opinion before she stepped in and interrupted the Council of Clan Leaders to let them all know about the plans she had for the de-aged Orochimaru. At the moment, she didn't have the time to stop! Either she acted or her old teammate's pissier brother would get his wish of getting Orochimaru jailed.

"You know about the Inuzuka being weird, right?" she asked the kid, taking a moment to glance down at him.

The crowds around them were parting for them as if death itself was walking down the streets of Konoha. Tsume stopped herself short from snarling at anyone that dared stray from her path; she had a lot of work to do, it seemed.

"You're not weird." the child murmured softly, looking up at her with wide eyes and his scent wrapped up in genuine incredulity. "You are unique. My parents said so before... you know..." and there was the sadness enveloping his smell again, causing him to look down at the street.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that he had grown up into a psychopathic sociopath with a bloodlust only rivalled by the most insane of shinobi, Tsume would have never believed this child didn't have a shot in life when he had been growing up the first time around. Because he had a good head on his shoulders and, from the sounds of it, his parents, even with all of the hardships in their life, had tried to raise him well. Few ever respected the Inuzuka clan, after all. They were usually just written off as savages; necessary tools of war, but dangerous to allow to roam.

She took a moment to allow Orochimaru some time to his thoughts. Then she cleared her throat and squeezed his hand, "Good parents. I think I would've liked 'em." and if the fact that his scent filling up with some semblance of pride made her own mood lighten just a little, no one but her and Kuromaru would ever know. "Anyway, we Inuzuka, we don't care about where you come from or who shares your bloodline."

This was a mass murderer. This was the greatest traitor in the history of Konoha. This man had harmed everyone within their Village, from the youngest baby to the oldest retiree, and he had not even thought twice about his actions.

But this was a man... that had never been given society's approval. He had never been okayed by the Village that he had sworn to protect a lifetime ago; the very Village he betrayed quite some years ago. While his teammates had been rejoiced and loved, he had been shunned and merely tolerated. He had been a stranger in his own home. He had always been.

He wouldn't be anymore, though. Not now that Tsume Inuzuka was going to be raising him as one of her own pups.

The Village would have to suck up their discontent; she would accept no crap directed at her youngest runt.

"As long as you're loyal to your family, you're an Inuzuka." she finished as they finally broke away from the busy streets of Konoha, reaching the dirt road that led in the direction of her clan's compound.

Kuromaru coughed softly and Tsume smirked at how unsubtle he was. He hadn't necessarily enjoyed not being part of the decision she took, but he undoubtedly thought the same way she did. This was a runt; not the Orochimaru they all knew and hated. And if they raised him right, they'd fix all the shit Konoha had managed to fuck up over the guy's first lifetime.

"Oh, I can be loyal to your family." Orochimaru's voice was excited now, "I like families. Especially big ones. My family used to be big."

Okay, if she had been doubting it before, Tsume was a thousand percent certain over the course she had decided to take in her life: Orochimaru was going to be raised right. And he would use his genius for good this lifetime, not evil.

"Don't worry, runt. We can't replace the family you lost, but I promise you one thing: you'll find no more loyal a family than us."

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Hope you enjoyed! Please review and tell me thoughts!

Please stay safe and don't take any unnecessary risks!