"Hello? Are you alright?"

It's a man's voice, piercing through the foggy numbness in Sasuke's head and rousing him up. He groans, eyes still closed. His hand is throbbing, his forearms are stinging, and he's fucking freezing. Sasuke cracks his right eye open, blearily looking for the source of the voice.

And he's immediately glad that he didn't open his Rinnegan, because there's a very familiar face staring down at him with concern. He never really met this man, but he's heard about him plenty from Naruto. Long white hair, vertical red-line marks under his eyes, and a wide smile—

Jiraiya frowns, and pokes him.

"Did you hear me? Are you alright?" he asks.

"I'm fine," Sasuke replies shortly, getting to his feet. His mind is spinning, because if Jiraiya's alive, that means the Akatsuki haven't even attacked Konoha yet. Sasuke didn't really plan to send himself back in time in the first place-it had been a reckless impulse, driven by grief-and he certainly didn't anticipate being sent back this far.

"You look like you got mugged by a pack of squirrels," Jiraiya says, his eyes roaming over the scratches on Sasuke's bare arms and the leaves tangled in his hair. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"Huh?" Sasuke says, shivering. He's looking around, and he can't find his damn shirt. "Shit. I must have lost it."

"The squirrels must have taken it," Jiraiya says, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He pulls out a little notebook and a pen, scribbling something down.

"I-there are no squirrels. What are you doing?" Sasuke snaps, crossing his arms.

"I'm a writer," the white-haired man replies airily. "Your plight is giving me inspiration. A scrawny man, beset by rabid squirrels, rescued-"

"There are no fucking squirrels! And you're not rescuing me!" Sasuke snarls. Jiraiya shrugs, putting away his notebook and pulling out a shirt from the bag slung over his shoulder.

"Here," Jiraiya says, tossing him the shirt. "Don't want you to freeze."

Sasuke opens his mouth to argue, but settles for shaking his head and grudgingly slipping the shirt on. It's too big, but it's better than walking around half-naked.

"Thanks," he mutters. Jiraiya grins at him, and then leans closer.

"Is there something in your eye?" he asks Sasuke, pointing at his closed right eye. Sasuke claps a hand over it, instinctively.

"It's fine. Just got hurt," he replies tersely. The other man nods, as if that makes perfect sense.

"Of course, the squirrels," Jiraiya says, pulling out his notebook, and Sasuke can feel his blood pressure rising. He turns around and walks away stiffly, his legs still sore from sleeping in a weird position.

"Wait! Wait," Jiraiya cries out, running after him. He pulls out a scrap of cloth and hands it to Sasuke, who takes it suspiciously. "At least bind that nasty scrape on your hand!"

Sasuke looks down at his right hand and winces. Yeah, punching that tree wasn't his smartest idea. Jiraiya's smile seems to grow even wider as Sasuke wraps the cloth around his hand.

"Right," Sasuke says, turning away and walking faster. He needs space to think. If Jiraiya's alive, then he's sent himself back in time at least six years. Probably more; Naruto spent three years training with the Toad Sage, and Jiraiya is alone right now. Something begins to melt the numbness in Sasuke's head. If he's this far back in time, he might be able to stop the Akatsuki from gathering the tailed beasts in the first place. He could—

There's the sound of a branch breaking, and he whirls around to find Jiraiya right behind him.

"What?" Sasuke growls.

"Hmm? Oh, don't mind me," Jiraiya replies easily. "I'm just observing."

"Observing? Me?"

"Yes. You're a very interesting character," Jiraiya explains. His eyes have a far-away look in them, as if the man is pondering something. "I can feel the inspiration for my new book coming."

"Go away," Sasuke says, putting as much hostility as he can into those two words.

"What? I give you a shirt, and a bandage, and this is how you repay me?" Jiraiya exclaims, one hand pressed to his chest. "You wound me! At least let me accompany you."

"Absolutely not," Sasuke says, pinning the other man with his most venomous glare. It doesn't faze Jiraiya in the slightest, because he just keeps following Sasuke.

"Alright. I'm not following you. We're just headed in the same direction," Jiraiya says cheerfully. Sasuke rolls his eyes and turns around to face him.

"You're clearly following me," he says.

"No!" Jiraiya exclaims. "Where are you headed, anyway?"

Sasuke ponders that for a second, his annoyance slipping away. He's not really sure.

"Where are we right now?" he asks Jiraiya.

"We're in the Land of Fire. 'Bout three days north of Konoha," comes the cheery reply, and Sasuke's breath catches in his throat. Konoha. It still exists; the people there are still alive.

"I'm going to Konoha," he says quietly, his mind made up. He can mess with the Akatsuki later, but first he's going to see the Leaf Village.

"What a coincidence! That's where I'm headed too. I guess I'll keep you company," Jiraiya says, and that dopey grin is back on the man's face.

"You're clearly just saying that because I said that's where I'm going," Sasuke says, exasperated.

"What! You barely know me, and you're already accusing me of lying?"

"Yes."

"Who hurt you so badly that you can't trust anymore?" Jiraiya says, an expression of shock and hurt on his face. Resisting the urge to shake the other man bodily, Sasuke takes a deep breath and starts walking south.

He can hear Jiraiya following him, scribbling furiously in that stupid fucking notebook, and he sighs.