Disclaimer: I don't own naruto, you knew this already though. And I still don't own the minion. Orochimaru won't give him up. I am Adam's sister, and I have to write this chapter because of the desperate cliffy I left you guys on last time. So enjoy.

After a day of questioning her, the jounins realized that Arishia knew nothing, not even Kabuto's whereabouts. Instead of a Sound spy, all they'd found was a love-struck young woman who was trying to find out the mysteries to her potential lover's life.

Her eyes were red-rimmed. She'd cried for almost three hours straight. She really didn't know what to believe anymore.

"How did you get mixed up with him anyway?" Kakashi asked her as he walked her home. "He's probably run right back to Orochimaru and told him all about your family."

She didn't answer.

"If he contacts you, let us know."

She went straight upstairs to her room. Wittorii came in.

"You are in so much trouble. Are you really in league with Orochimaru? Are you going to turn that boy in when you see him?" Her questions seemed incessant.

"Look, I just want to be left alone."

Ari wasn't sure how much of the story her parents had heard, but the whole town was buzzing about her arrest and the possible presence of Orochimaru.

Two days later, she lay on her bed reading. Matto knocked on the door.

"Ari, a guy named Shian is here to see you."

"I don't know anyone named Shian."

"He said it was important."

She went outside.

"Look I don't know who you are or why you're here…."

The dark-haired boy looked her directly in the eyes. She slapped him across the face.

"I should have told you sooner." He said.

"Damn right you should have." She took off her forehead protector and hit him with it repeatedly. He just stood there and took it. "You killed the third Hokage."

"Not me! Orochimaru!"

"You helped! It's your fault I got arrested. I should turn you in to the Jounins."

"Not so loud. Your family will hear."

"I can be as loud as I want! You're trespassing on my property!"

"Ari, I need your help. I ran away from Orochimaru. I'm positive he's looking for me."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

He didn't answer at first. Finally he said, "If I had told Orochimaru about you, he'd have already told Orochimaru about you, he'd have already come to you. You wouldn't have resisted him, because I know you're jealous of Emirii."

She sat down on the steps.

"Come here," she said. He came over and sat on the step in front of her. She ran her hand through his hair. He leaned against her, and she put his arms around him from behind.

He told her the whole story of how he'd come to be involved with Orochimaru.

"There's a way to put a seal over the cursed seal so it's not as easy to access its power. Unfortunately, I don't know it," he said.

The first place they tried was the library. They knew they wouldn't find an exact description of the actual ritual, but they thought it might point them in the right direction. The entry in the archives read like this: "Cursed Seal- A forbidden technique. All other information is restricted."

"Restricted to who?" they wondered. Further inquiry would only raise suspicion. It turned out that only a ninja of jounin rank or higher could access the information they needed.

Ari was about to cry. "This can't be it. We don't have any choice. You're going to have to turn yourself in."

"We could run away."

"Run where? As long as you've got that thing, Orochimaru knows where to find you."

They finally agreed that they needed to face the Jounins and the Hokage. Hopefully, Tsunade would be lenient. Arishia doubted it since she'd had a run in with Kabuto and Orochimaru right before she'd come back to Konoha.

"Honorable Hokage." She said as she entered Tsunade's chamber. "I have the fugitive Kabuto. He's giving himself up. I ask your mercy because in the time I've known him I've come to care about him."

The girl's eyes filled with tears. Kabuto told his story.

"Orochimaru originally sent me here to spy on the Saruteru clan. I was instructed to bring Saruteru Emirii to him so he could use her talents in the destruction of Konoha. However, instead of observing Emirii, I watched Arishia because she trained in the mornings right outside of where Orochimaru had me living. She is a very strong and determined woman. I realized that I didn't want Orochimaru to get hold of her, so I left him. I cut my hair and I ran."

The jounins sent Ari and Kabuto out into the hallway, so they could confer.

"Do you believe his story?" Kakashi asked Tsunade.

"It's hard to say. I know how charismatic Orochimaru can be, and the boy does seem disillusioned. I can tell his feelings for Arishia are genuine, however, I know that even Orochimaru has been known to be capable of love."

Jiraya spoke up. "I think it would be wrong of us to automatically assume the boy's a threat. I say we seal his cursed seal, and then we make sure he stays close. If he tries anything, then we deal with him."

"How will we keep him from running."

Jiraya opened the door a crack. The council was able to see Ari and Kabuto kissing passionately.

"As long as that girl's here, he's not going anywhere. I can't say I blame him either."

Jiraya said he would deliver the verdict to Ari and Kabuto, and the council departed. He, of course, had a deal of his own.

"I know the procedure for sealing your cursed seal, however, there is a price for that information."

"We'll do anything," Ari said.

"I'm glad you said that." Jiraya said with a wolfish grin.

Arishia was beginning to regret her words, as she lay on the sofa in Jiraya's apartment, totally nude. He had a camera set up, and he was taking pictures of her.

"Let's try this." He handed her a sheer red robe. She put it on.

"Now," he said "Take it off your shoulders a little, and make sure you show a little leg too. Not too much though. In this shot, we're trying to leave a little to the imagination. This character's supposed to be hot, but virginal."

Kabuto sat in the corner watching, enjoying every minute of this except for the fact that Jiraya was getting way too into it. He hoped they'd get copies of some of the pictures.

The Jounins hadn't made his presence public knowledge. They ruled they'd continue to let him live in Konoha under the assumed identity he'd adopted. He knew they were watching him closely, however, he also knew that if Orochimaru came looking for him they would help him resist his call.

Shian and Arishia left Jiraya's and went for a cup of tea. After that, she was going to help him find an apartment in town. He wasn't going anywhere, if she had any say in the matter.