Chapter 28
"Not all snakes are venomous, but they're all slimy and have sharp teeth that can still draw blood. When in doubt, run."
Sakura gritted her teeth as she pressed her back against the tree, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. Nearby Sasuke and Naruto confronted the enemy, a lone Grass kunoichi who had appeared out of no where following a giant gust of wind. Their original plan had been for the boys to distract her while Sakura hid and prepared to throw one of her paralytic-laced shuriken at the stranger, but then the woman summoned a snake and Sakura found herself hesitating.
Serpentine eyes flashed through her memory, an instinctive shudder running down her spine. Nearly every Bingo Book she'd collected over the years had the same face on the first page, a gaunt, white-skinned man with yellow eyes and a slimy smirk. Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin and the most notorious missing-nin from Konoha, had left a strong impression on her even in just photograph form. Snakes happened to be his personal summon, so intrinsic to his fighting style and persona that every Bingo Book mentioned it at the top of known abilities.
Three years ago when Sakura first found a bingo book entry on Mitarashi Anko, it had included two particular details of note that had stuck with her. First, Anko happened to be one of Orochimaru's former students, which had definitely smudged her reputation in the village despite cutting ties with the traitor. However, though she had disowned him as her teacher, their relationship still had one connection which persisted: she happened to be the only other known living person who had signed a contract with the Snake summons.
Seeing as Sakura distinctly remembered this particular Grass genin interacting with Anko right before the phase began, she easily dismissed the possibility of her role model transforming into the genin. She could be another random student Orochimaru had taken on after defecting. But given that the Grass "genin" had showed off a very long and flexible tongue earlier, and how she currently displayed an almost boneless quality as she attacked Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura had to begrudgingly dismiss that theory.
No, all the evidence pointed to their assailant being the traitorous Sannin himself in disguise, which meant Big Trouble. Her heart pounded wildly with fear and terror as she swiftly reviewed all of her knowledge of their opponent. Her stomach twisted as she recalled the bare-bones details she'd been able to find on his experiments during her long hours of research on various names in the Bingo Book, so cruel and inhumane that they left her wanting to vomit even without specific details involved.
Her gaze flickered to the shuriken in her hand, biting down on her lip in indecision. Would her paralytics even work? No, she realized, she had concocted a rather basic one from Haku's book, and the chances of Orochimaru not developing an immunity to the ingredients involved given his own history were laughably dismal. Right now Sasuke and Naruto risked their lives facing the man, waiting for her to act out her part of a plan she knew wouldn't work.
Frustration surged through her as she harshly stowed away the shuriken and began rummaging through her weapons pouch, her mind whirling desperately in search of a better strategy. Her fingers brushed against something soft and Sakura paused, her eyes widening as she recognized the small coin purse Kakashi had returned just a week ago. The map!
Snatching it out of the weapons pouch, Sakura closed her fist around it and pumped chakra into the purple pouch, glimpsing the kanji for 'Strength' sewn onto the side light up and fluctuate between red and pink. "Please, notice it soon," she whispered in a quiet prayer, slipping it back into her weapons pouch. No sooner had she done that than she felt the hairs on her neck suddenly rise, and on instinct Sakura dove away from the tree just before it shattered under the sudden impact of a large snake.
Rolling along the ground and landing in a crouch, she spun to face the battle with gritted teeth, instinctively retrieving a kunai from her pouch. An unpoisoned kunai wouldn't do much good against an opponent like this, but the familiar feeling of the hilt in her hand provided a faint sense of comfort and false assurance that made her tighten her grip.
"My, hiding while your teammates risk their lives?" the supposed "genin" taunted with a smirk, and for half a second Sakura thought she saw their tongue flicker in their mouth like a snake's. "That's quite low, isn't it? Especially for Konoha, which prides itself on teamwork and friendship." Sakura's pulse slid to a halt at the venomous lilt draping from the last sentence, her muscles paralyzed by the intensity of their stare.
An orange blur barreled to the ground next to her and suddenly she found Naruto grabbing her arm and jerking her to her feet. "Sakura-chan, move!" he screamed, and hauled her into the air with a giant leap just before a snake crashed into the spot she'd occupied. Even as they jumped to safety Sasuke appeared behind the stranger, hands already flashing through the seals for a Grand Fireball, and a fiery inferno erupted from his mouth scorching the area their opponent stood.
Burning grass and wood blew their way as Naruto directed their jump to land atop a nearby branch, at which point he grabbed Sakura by the shoulders. "Sakura-chan, snap out of it!" he hissed, giving her a hard shake as his eyes flashed with panic and concern. "You were supposed to throw that shuriken at her so we could slow her down!"
Sakura swallowed thickly, the motion difficult with the heavy dryness that had dominated her mouth. "It wouldn't work," she whispered, shaking her head.
"Hah? What are you talking about, Sakura?"
"That person. He—she—they're, th-they're not normal." Noticing her body had begun to shake violently, she folded her arms over her chest to try to still the tremors. She tried to steady her erratic heartbeat as she swallowed again, her next words coming out careful and measured. "I... I threw out my favorite kunai."
Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized the secret code phrase they'd settled upon to alert the others if they sent the distress signal. Sakura quickly looked at her feet, knowing that he wouldn't respond well to the news. After entering the forest all three members Team Seven had made a vow to each other not to use the seals no matter what, and yet she'd gone and done it on her own anyway.
Sure enough Naruto's shock quickly gave way to an irritated scowl, his voice rising into a high-pitched hiss that didn't rise from a whisper but clearly emulated yelling. "What? Are you serious!? I know that guy's really strong, but you haven't even tried yet!"
Sucking in a sharp breath, Sakura steadied her trembling and raised her head to meet his gaze, her own eyes full of a sudden steely calm that gave him pause. "Naruto, I am ninety-nine percent certain that 'genin' is Orochimaru." For a moment Naruto looked at her blankly before comprehension suddenly dawned.
"W-wait, Orochimaru?" he squeaked, paling to a shade almost as white as the man in question. "Y-you mean that guy from the Sannin you talked about?"
"Yes, Naruto," Sakura confirmed with a grim nod, grimacing as she dared a glance at the ongoing fight. Sasuke's fireball had well since faded by this point to reveal scorch marks on the ground, but no traces of their opponent remained. The Uchiha immediately reacted by jumping away, and barely two seconds later another snake exploded from the ground where he'd been standing.
Watching the chaos with wide-eyed horror, Naruto turned to look at Sakura and said, "Shit."
Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Sakura realize she had been speaking to a shadow clone the entire time. Seconds later she heard a loud chorus of whispered curses echoing all around them and Sasuke whipped his head to look around in surprise, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he registered Naruto's hidden clones simultaneously cursing. His gaze lingered when it landed upon Sakura, the kunoichi just staring back at him with grave horror.
Hearing a soft whistle behind her, Sakura instantly leapt down from the branch and barely avoided a kunai whizzing through the space that her head had occupied. Upon hitting the tree it exploded with a giant boom that did not seem to fit the tag's size, and the resulting shockwave from the explosion struck Sakura mid-fall. The force sent her hurtling to the ground for a less-than-graceful impact, crashing into the dirt and painfully skinning her arms and legs as she slid forward several feet.
The second she stopped Sasuke appeared next to her, helpfully hoisting her to her feet with a single tug on her arm. Pain surged through her tender legs at having her weight on the just-pulled muscle but she ignored it and immediately jumped backwards with Sasuke to avoid a rain of kunai and shuriken. The second they landed the pair turned and fled, her teammate shooting her a dark look.
"What the hell happened to the strategy?" he demanded hotly.
"Change of plans," she informed him, rummaging through her pouch. "No time to explain, but if I'm right this guy is stronger than Zabuza." Her words made Sasuke visibly tense, though his steps never slowed. Pulling out a kunai with a bright red wrap around the handle, she nodded to Sasuke and said, "Focus on buying time."
With that final order she whipped around and threw the kunai behind her, watching it plunge into a tree. The bandages unraveled to reveal an explosive tag which promptly ignited and burst into a large plume of dark brown smoke, spreading a sharp, pungent odor through the nearby area. Naruto had conceived the stink-bomb exploding kunai in Wave, and while it had seemed a frivolous addition to her arsenal, Sakura now felt grateful for his insistence on its inclusion. She knew that most snakes depended on their sense of smell due to poor eyesight, and hopefully these wouldn't be different.
Sure enough, several of the serpents hissed and recoiled in dismay, making various noises of disgust as the odor assaulted them. Recognizing the effect the smell had on the snakes, the Naruto clones surged into action and sprung from various points in the trees to litter the serpents with their own arsenal of rigged kunai. Each sticky explosion amplified the nauseating odor to the point that Sasuke and Sakura's eyes began watering, but the overwhelming stench momentarily stunned the snakes and they couldn't waste the opportunity.
Skidding to a halt and spinning to race back towards them, Sasuke whipped out his shuriken and rained them upon the frozen serpents. They couldn't react fast enough and most of the shuriken managed to hit their targets with no problems, their cries of pain echoing loudly as the sharp points pierced through their scales. Two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke, the shuriken embedding too deep in their bodies to continue fighting safely, but the other three recovered swiftly and flung themselves at the Uchiha.
This time Sakura launched forward, ignoring the awful stench as she pulled out her own shuriken and threw them at the pouncing snakes. At the same time a barrage of Naruto clones descended from the trees, aiming harsh kicks at their backs with furious roars. Blood flew from at least one snake's mouth as a clone stomped it to the forest floor and a sickening crack echoed upon impact, followed by Sakura's shuriken burying into its neck to force it back. The remaining two managed to slither out of the way and sprung at the clones with jaws extended to expose their sharp, sharp fangs.
Sasuke and Sakura used those precious few seconds of distraction to launch a retreat, loud pops sounding behind them to signify the clones had been popped. At this point they had no idea where the real Naruto was, but they could only hope he would be fine. Kami knew they could barely save themselves as it stood.
A flash of movement caught Sakura's eye and her gaze snapped to the ground to see the earth trembling just ahead of them. Her breath hitched and she screamed, "Look out!" but it was too late. Another snake suddenly erupted from the earth, this one the largest yet, and the resulting explosion of displaced earth and soil sent her and Sasuke tumbling back. The snake launched towards Sasuke, its jaws unhinging to reveal the so-called "genin" emerging.
Twisting their torso like a corkscrew as they emerged, their hand abruptly shot toward Sasuke, their arm stretching in a boneless manner to extend its reach to impossible lengths. Slimy fingers grabbed the shocked genin by the throat, a choked gasp escaping him as they tightened painfully. The assailant's upper body instantly stretched across the gap while their legs remained in the snake's mouth, and Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as their sticky hair fell away of their face.
Saliva and venom coated their—no, his face to give it a sickly sheen, his mouth twisted into a demented grin that sent shudders down Sakura's spine. "My, so creative," the crazed shinobi crooned, yellow eyes glinting with a manic glee visible to Sakura even from several yards away as he surveyed his trapped prey. "Your whole team is quite interesting, isn't it?" Clear fluid spewed from Sasuke's mouth as the man's hold tightened even further around his neck, his captor's smile growing malicious as he leaned closer to hiss only loud enough for Sasuke himself to hear, "But I only have eyes for one of you."
Before the man could do anything else a loud crack sounded and suddenly a series of sharp wooden spikes erupted from the soil beneath them, spiraling directly towards his body. The "genin" swiftly retracted his torso and head before either could get impaled, lightly loosening his hold on Sasuke's neck in the process. A vine immediately shot out and ensnared the Uchiha around the waist, yanking him away from the man's grip with a harsh jerk and pulling him into the trees.
Cloaked figures suddenly filled the clearing, one appearing right in front of Sakura in a defensive position. Though they wore hoods that shaded their faces she caught glimpses of porcelain white masks within the shadows and immediately registered the new arrivals as ANBU. Under other circumstances Inner Sakura would probably be screeching with delight at the sight of so many of their future comrades and subordinates, but as it stood Sakura just felt too overwhelmed to particularly care.
"Retreat now," the one in front of her ordered, not turning away from their opponent. "Tiger will escort your team to safety."
"T-Tiger?" she sputtered, still struggling to process everything. As if on cue another ANBU agent appeared next to her, this one wearing a mask with red and green stripes and a distinct feline shape to its eyes. He swept her off her feet and whisked her away without a word, the scenery blurring as he ran at speeds she had only dreamed of. Her heart pounded wildly as her head forcibly rested against his chest due to the sheer momentum of his pace, her ear pressing in just the right place to faintly hear the smooth, steady rhythm of his heartbeat through his armor and clothing.
"CHYA!" Inner Sakura yelled excitedly. "This is AWESOME! Dammit, this would be even cooler if it was Sasuke!"
Yes. Yes it would be. Damsels in distress always annoyed her, but if it was Sasuke-kun...
By the time the ANBU finally landed Sakura's face had turned a bright cherry red, fantasies of Sasuke carrying her bridal style filling her mind. It took her a second to register they'd stopped, and she quickly blinked and shook her head before he set her on her feet. Two clones of the man waited alongside Naruto and Sasuke, her teammates looking just as shaken as she felt.
"What the hell just happened?" Naruto asked, looking a bit queasy from the speedy run.
"I have no idea anymore," Sasuke grumbled, rubbing his forehead.
"Your team has been targeted by a notorious S-rank missing ninja," the ANBU informed them, his clones dispersing. Hand fluttering towards his ear, Sakura realized he must be wearing a radio set under his hood because he nodded and told them, "Currently my comrades and Mitarashi Anko are engaging him in battle, but they lack the necessary power to defeat him and he'll likely flee before stronger reinforcements can arrive. There is a chance that when he escapes he will go after your team again."
His words served as a harsh callback to reality for Sakura, banishing all lingering thoughts of Sasuke's well-toned chest as the past five minutes crashed back into the forefront of her mind. Her head spun dizzily at the prospect of possibly fighting the man again, her heartbeat spiking anxiously. Naruto looked similarly uneasy and uncertain, while Sasuke just scowled.
"Who the hell is he?" her teammate demanded coldly, his eyes narrowed.
The ANBU hesitated, and then confirmed Sakura's worst fears: "One of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru."
At that point the stress finally caught up to her, and she doubled over and vomited.
Nightfall found the trio of genin huddled in the hollow of a giant tree, their bodies pressed together as they gazed into the darkness with wary eyes. They had decided against building a fire as the glow could draw attention, only lighting one long enough to roast the meat of a large predatory bird they'd felled earlier. Even then, they made sure to conceal the fire as much as possible, and only roasted the meat long enough so it couldn't be called "raw".
Sasuke frowned as he stared into the darkness, his Sharingan flickering to life so the trees came into sharper focus. Somewhere out there a full ANBU squadron lurked, watching their team from places they couldn't even imagine. When Team Seven had expressed their desire to continue the exam regardless of the risk, Tiger arranged to have a team watch the three genin at all times in case Orochimaru made another appearance.
That said, they wouldn't help if a rival team or predator showed up. Tiger made it perfectly clear that one of them could be dying of poison with their legs chopped off and their throat bleeding out, and their ANBU watchers still wouldn't lift a finger to help. Team Seven was still taking the exam, and letting a fully-trained ANBU provide aid would give them a ridiculously unfair advantage.
They had graciously provided the team enough water to last the night though. Hunting food would be easy enough given the large variety of lethal fauna aiming to turn them into dinner, but apparently they decided that expecting a trio of rookies to go looking for water after encountering a Sannin would be unreasonable. Something about how proper hydration would potentially help their mental states recover faster.
Exhaling through his nose, Sasuke let his eyes return to their normal state and glanced at his teammates. Naruto put on a tough face like usual, but he could recognize the strong glimmer of anxiety in his eyes as they continually flitted to the forest, as if searching for dangerous. Sakura had regained a bit of color compared to when she'd first thrown up but still looked shaken by the encounter, not that he could blame her.
She'd filled him in on her knowledge of Orochimaru's abilities and history, and he felt sickened by what she described. He definitely existed far beyond their league, and even though she described some pretty horrific crimes, he had a distinct feeling she omitted a lot of details.
Orochimaru's last remark made it clear his interest lay in Sasuke, a thought which made the Uchiha feel sick to his stomach. It didn't take a genius to figure out he most likely wanted Sasuke's eyes rather than Sasuke himself. He felt grateful Sakura broke their vow and used the seal on her coin purse to send a distress signal, because if the ANBU had been even a second later in figuring out their location—
He shuddered, not even wanting to imagine what could have happened.
Instead he quietly sighed, the soft sound instantly grabbing the attention of his still-edgy teammates. "We need to figure out watch shifts," he declare in a low voice, careful not to speak too loudly. His teammates nodded slowly, their grim and anxious expressions morphing into more determined looks.
"I'll take first watch," all three said at once, and then blinked in surprise. Some might call the simultaneous offers a show of strong care for each other, but Sasuke knew better. None of them wanted to risk being asleep if Orochimaru attacked.
After a long while of silence Sakura sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is so stupid," she grumbled under her breath. "We have a full ANBU squadron watching us, they'll move right away if he shows his slimy face for even a second. We should just trust them and focus on the exam."
"Right," Naruto muttered, nodding uneasily. Pausing, he looked between her and Sasuke before deciding, "Then I guess I'll take first watch. Sakura-chan, you still look kinda sick, and you look really pale too teme."
"I'm naturally pale," Sasuke deadpanned.
"Yeah, but I mean, paler than usual." Naruto rolled his eyes.
"He's got a point," Sakura sighed, slumping against the wall. "You got strangled, Sasuke. And my stomach's still a bit off from vomiting back there." Folding her arms over her chest, she closed her eyes and hummed in thought. "Sasuke-kun, your Sharingan lets you see in the dark better, doesn't it?" When he grunted in affirmation, she reasoned, "Then you should take the middle shift, since it's the darkest. I'll take the last one since it's closest to dawn and it will be gradually getting lighter. Is that okay?"
Sasuke frowned, not pleased at the prospect of having his sleep interrupted by the middle shift. With his current adrenaline rush it would take a while to fall asleep, and waking up for the second shift would only make it harder to fall asleep again. Then a sudden thought struck him. "Wait, why don't we have the dobe's clones set up a perimeter and take shifts instead?"
Sakura opened her eyes to stare at him blankly, her gaze unreadable in the darkness. "...I did not think of that," she admitted slowly, and the boys realized she must be even more out of it than they first thought.
Shooting her a sympathetic look, Naruto raised his hand into the seal and created several clones, which promptly transformed into various creatures they'd seen during their brief stay in the Forest of Death. The disguised clones immediately set out to establish a perimeter, and he reclined against the inner wall of the tree with a tired grin. "There, now if any of them see anything suspicious, they'll pop and let me know right away. So you guys just both sit back and get some sleep, okay? Just leave security to me!"
He flashed them a grin Sasuke supposed was meant to be reassuring, but he still couldn't shed the overwhelming unease the earlier battle had incurred. Still, he curled up on the floor of the hollow and after a moment's thought huddled against Sakura, making her tense. "S-S-Sasuke-k-k-kun?" she stuttered, and he frowned in mild irritation as he wondered if her worse fangirl tendencies would resurface. They had never really vanished completely, but they had definitely improved over the years to a tolerable level.
"None of us have blankets, and we can't build a fire because it would make our location too visible to enemies," he told her flatly. "So unless you have any better ideas to stay warm, our best option is to lie down next to each other and share body warmth." He heard a strange squeaking sound, and decided to pretend it came from a squirrel rather than his teammate having a potential relapse. Glancing to Naruto, he ordered, "Wake us up the second something happens."
"Got it," the blond replied, nodding at him earnestly. He felt Sakura shift next to him, sitting up a bit to meet their teammate's eyes.
"Naruto," she began but paused, seeming to search for words. Their gazes held for a few moments before her eyes briefly flitted to Sasuke before returning to Naruto, and when she did comprehension dawned on his face and he nodded.
"Don't worry Sakura-chan," he told her, flashing a bright grin. "I get it." Relief seemed to flash on her face, and she laid back down with a sigh, curling into a ball next to Sasuke. Exhaustion quickly took hold of them and sleep soon claimed them, Sasuke's consciousness fading into a dreamless void.
Later, when he awoke to early morning sunlight filtering into the hollow and Sakura quietly preparing breakfast consisting of safe plants, he'd realize that they never did wake him up for his shift.
Blood and sand mingled on the forest ground, flies buzzing around the gory remains of the hours-old corpse. Glazed eyes stared at the sky lifelessly behind cracked sunglasses, face twisted in a permanent grimace of horror. A soft sigh escaped the silver-haired man towering above the body, his lips pursed into a disapproving frown.
"I leave for a few hours, and this happens?" Kabuto sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His eyes slid to his remaining teammate and Tsurugi Misumi stiffened minutely under his sharp gaze, his jaw clenching beneath the cloth covering his face. Though he and Kabuto officially ranked as genin in Konoha's eyes, within the ranks of their true allegiance Kabuto far outranked him, serving as Orochimaru's right-hand man.
Sweat beaded on Misumi's face as he swallowed, fully aware that the apparently gentle and pacifistic medic could easily destroy his body beyond usability with a few touches if angered enough. "I don't know. We had to split up briefly due to a pack of tigers attacking us." Kabuto hummed at the explanation, turning back to the body of Akado Yoroi. Based on the state of his corpse, he probably ran into Suna's jinchuuriki.
Quite foolish, really. Kabuto had specifically warned his so-called "teammates" not to approach Gaara, knowing full well the boy had fully earned his highly dangerous reputation. Neither of them could possibly hope to survive a hostile encounter with the unstable jinchuuriki, but it would make sense that the ever-brash and over-confident Yoroi would assume his chakra absorption abilities would give him an edge over Gaara anyway.
Frankly, Yoroi should count himself lucky he perished. Had he somehow survived, Lord Orochimaru would make his life hell for his failure. Oh well, no point in dwelling on the past. "It appears we won't be able to proceed to the next phase," he declared to Misumi, his lips curling into a humorless smile as he pulled out their scroll. "I suppose we should see to it that we follow through Plan B, then. After all, someone needs to make it to the next round."
He turned on his heel and calmly strode away, Misumi casting one last glance at their fallen comrade before following in grim silence.
"Aunt Ryoko, help!"
The ten-year-old boy screamed as a large gray cat chased him, the boy narrowly avoiding a swipe of his claws with a horrified whine. Jiraiya just watched the chase with a bemused smile as he sat at the low table with a scroll, secretly pleased to not be on the receiving end of the feline's wrath for once. The boy yelled again as he dodged another strike, releasing a strained whine as the claws glinted in the light.
"Masahige, Shisui, that's enough!"
The pair instantly halted as Ryoko suddenly thundered into the room, her hair frazzled and loose from its braid and her apron covered in splattered food. Shisui dove behind her and clutched her skirt, peering around her leg at the feline with a fearful whimper.
"Aunt Ryoko, save me!" he cried, whimpering as the cat shot him a cold glare. Ryoko just sighed, shaking her head.
"I swear, I feel like the only adult sometimes," she grumbled, and Masahige snorted and rolled his eyes.
"You are an adult, Ryoko. You should act like it sometimes."
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm gonna agree with the cat on this one," Jiraiya grumbled, ignoring the disdainful look the ninneko shot him. "You're a mother now, you're the only adult most of the time. You can't act childish all the time."
"So says the man who still peeps on women like a child in the throes of puberty," Masahige murmured disdainfully, and Jiraiya shot him a cold look.
"Hey! I'll have you know that there is nothing wrong with pervertedness!"
"It is one of Jiraiya-sensei's funniest traits," Ryoko mused, and Shisui offered her a deadpan look.
"You are a terrible role model. I feel bad for your kids."
"Says the boy who spends every free day at my house." She ruffled his hair with a cheeky smirk, and Shisui batted away her hand with quickly reddening cheeks.
"O-only because you're the only adult who makes cookies!"
"Speaking of cookies..." Her gaze slid to the door and Shisui suddenly froze, his eyes widening. In a flash he disappeared from the room, at which point Ryoko turned to her feline summon. "Hige-chan, be a dear and watch him, hmm?"
"I am a warrior, not a babysitter," the cat grumbled, but dutifully trotted after the boy anyway. Ryoko quietly slid the door shut behind him before turning around with a large sigh.
"That kid sure likes you, doesn't he?" Jiraiya commented, and Ryoko smiled.
"Of course he does. Shisui-chan has been coming over since before the twins were born. I'm pretty much the closest thing he has to a therapist."
"Therapist? The hell does a kid like that need a therapist for? He's what, eight?"
"Ten," Ryoko corrected, collapsing on the cushion at the table across from Jiraiya. Grabbing the scroll before he could stop her, she skimmed its contents with a thoughtful hum. "Ooh, is this a code? I wonder who it's from."
"That," Jiraiya growled, snatching the scroll back, "is none of your business. Which reminds me, you still haven't given me a good explanation for why you sent those damned cats to find me."
"Didn't they tell you?" she asked, inclining her head inquisitively. "I want you to teach my children a jutsu."
"Yeah, they told me. I just don't get why. Can't you do it?"
"Well, yeah, but it's not the same," she sighed. "You're a Sannin. I'm just some retired old biddie who had a breakdown."
"...You're an A-rank threat known internationally as the Bloody Sunburst with a fifty million ryo bounty," Jiraiya deadpanned.
"Plenty of people reach that point."
"You're an Uchiha-born fuinjutsu master whose abilities are on par with me, and almost reverse-engineered the Hiraishin."
"Minato beat me to it though."
"You single-handedly turned the tides in the Battle of Getsugawa and saved the lives of dozens of our own forces."
"That wasn't a major battle. Kannabi Bridge had a way bigger impact."
Jiraiya could feel his eye twitching in irritation. "...You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" he asked through gritted teeth, and she smiled at him serenely.
"Nope. If you're going to teach Minato's son, then surely you can teach my kids a thing or two too. It's only fair, sensei."
"Only fai—Minato's dead!" Jiraiya stared at her in disbelief, and Ryoko paused, her smile fading.
"...He is, isn't he," she murmured, and he found himself pausing because she had that wistful look on her face, that distant gaze haunted by some sort of knowledge he couldn't possibly understand. Watching her silently, after a few moments Jiraiya huffed a large sigh and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"...Alright, fine," he muttered. "I'll teach them something. Maybe I can tutor them in fuinjutsu or something..."
"No, I have a better idea," Ryoko responded, cupping her hands around his cheeks, and his eyelids fluttered open in surprise just in time to see her eyes turn red.
In the present Jiraiya sighed as he sat atop the Hokage monument, perched on one of the spikes of Minato's hair. Warm lights glowed in the windows of the village below him as the night grew darker, the streets nearly empty save as the majority of the residents retreated indoors to sleep. Watching Konoha at twilight never particularly appealed to him like some of his comrades, preferring the spectacular sights available in more exotic vistas, but he could still appreciate the aesthetics of the view. It created a homey and comfortable atmosphere, with just a slightly somber note due to late hour. A relaxed atmosphere perfect for reflecting on the past.
What started as a simple day had evolved into something so much more hectic. First, he got caught up in training Masaru after unexpectedly running into him at Ryoko's grave, and spent a good chunk of the day supervising the young Uchiha's attempts at the fireball well into the afternoon. Then on his way to do some pre-dinner research to work up his appetite, he got intercepted by an ANBU with immediate summons to the Hokage's office. And upon being dragged there against his will, he learned that his old teammate had been sighted going after the other Uchiha.
All in all, it looked like Jiraiya had come back to Konoha just in time for one hell of a show. No way Sarutobi-sensei would let him just laze around with the ever-looming threat before them, the old man was probably planning Jiraiya's schedule for the next month right now.
"What a day," he muttered, the corners of his mouth lifting into a rueful smirk. "Feels like just yesterday I was visiting Ryoko's place watching you chase around that poor brat." He turned his head slightly to look at the feline sitting on one of the stones behind him, his ash-colored fur giving the heavily scarred cat an almost ghostly appearance as his single golden eye gleamed in what little light penetrated the night.
"You'll have to be more specific than just poor brat," Masahige replied dryly, and the sage released a humorless chuckle as he turned to face the village again.
"So, is there a reason you're still in Konoha?" 'Any more final orders Ryoko neglected to inform us about?' lingered beneath the surface of his inquiry, too experienced to voice such questions so bluntly.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. In any event, it is none of your business." Jiraiya snorted and rolled his eyes, expecting no less from the cantankerous feline who served as the leader of Ryoko's personal summons. They never had gotten along, not from the first time Ryoko had summoned the cat during a team meeting. In fact, he often suspected she ordered him to assault Jiraiya's face every time, just for comedy value.
The thought of those peaceful days sobered him, his face growing solemn as he surveyed his home village. Once upon a time, Jiraiya had a total of six people who claimed him as their teacher. Over the years the number had steadily whittled down though, starting with kind but short-tempered and rash Yuichi after his first brush with war ended with him succumbing to a fast-acting poison before they could get help, and eventually ending with Ryoko's gory demise at the hands of her own clansman barely six years ago.
Now all that remained of those halcyon days were two fragile boys who inherited unspeakably heavy burdens from their deceased parents. Sometimes Jiraiya wondered what that said about him, that his students—all six, when most people only had three at most—had all died so young. Had he been superstitious like Tsunade he'd probably assume he had some kind of curse attached to him, forced to watch every student perish while he'd somehow survive to die of old age.
As if reading his mind Masahige huffed and grumbled lowly, "You better not be blaming yourself for all of their deaths. Ryoko gave me strict orders to scratch your face if you ever started moping about her and everyone else's decisions, and I'd rather not have to stalk you around Konoha to keep in compliance with that order."
The abruptness of the complaint and its content brought forth a bubbling laugh from Jiraiya, his gloomy thoughts disappearing as he slapped his knee with a mirthful chuckle. "Well, I don't want that either," he teased, grinning at the glaring feline. "I have enough cranky old men in my life right now. I'd much rather have some pretty young ladies stalking me for a change."
The cat growled in annoyance and leaped off the rock, disappearing into the darkness below the monument. Jiraiya reclined against the stone with a faint smile, tipping his head to look up at the glittering night sky.
This upcoming month still gave him an ominous foreboding feeling, but for tonight he'd let himself relax, just a little.
Omake: Back With Masaru
On day three of the Chuunin Exams, Kakashi suddenly appeared in the window and declared, "Good news, Team Seven made it safely to the tower!"
Masaru yelled and nearly toppled over in shock at the jounin's sudden entrance, dropping the basket he'd been carrying to the laundry room. Watching the dirty clothes spill onto the floor, Kakashi couldn't help but comment, "Maa, you need to work on your reflexes."
"Y-you—what are you doing here!?" Masaru sputtered, whirling to stare at Kakashi wide-eyed. "What does that even mean!?" Kakashi stared at him for a moment from his perch on the windowsill, blinking owlishly.
"Oh right. You don't know what the second phase actually is." Shrugging, he slid off the windowsill to stand on the floor, hands casually shoved into his pockets. "Well, the specifics don't really matter, you just need to know that Team Seven passed. Whose boxers are those and how did it get that big purple stain?"
His attention zeroed in on a pair of boxers patterned with neon-colored cat heads and a large stain on the side, and Masaru snatched it up with flaming cheeks. "Yours, then," Kakashi surmised, and dodged a kunai which immediately lodged into the wall behind him. Eying the damage, he couldn't help but remark, "That may affect your deposit."
"How does Sasuke put up with you," Masaru groaned, gathering the fallen laundry.
"You still haven't explained the stain."
"Naruto left a paint bomb for Sasuke and it got me instead."
"Ah, of course." Kakashi nodded sagely as if that explained everything, and Masaru dumped the fallen clothes into the basket and hefted it up.
"Thanks for telling me they passed, I guess? I kinda need to go do laundry now, though, so..."
"Right, I understand." Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile, and he closed the window and locked it. "The laundry room's on the second floor, right? Let's walk together."
Masaru just decided not to question why he knew that since as far as he knew most apartment buildings kept it in their basements or the first floor. "Why?" he asked instead.
"Why not?" Kakashi responded blithely. Masaru just stared at him silently, not moving for the door. The jounin clearly had a bigger motive for visiting than just tell him Sasuke passed the second phase, otherwise he wouldn't have followed him here. Whatever it was he seemed uncomfortable about bringing it up.
Unfortunately for Kakashi, Masaru had mastered the art of enduring long silences, both awkward and tense. Between Sasuke's broody mood swings and his own naturally social ineptitude, he had plenty of experience with these kinds of silences and had grown mostly desensitized to them. If Kakashi wanted the silence to end, he'd have to break it himself.
After about five minutes the jounin sighed. "You know, given how much you seem to struggle with most social interactions, I expected you to crack sooner," he commented, and Masaru flashed him a smug smirk.
"Sorry to disappoint you," he taunted. "Why are you here?"
"Well, I guess I really just want to make sure you're holding up alright," Kakashi said with a lazy shrug. His answer still didn't satisfy Masaru, and he looked at him for about five more seconds before it clicked.
"You miss having Sasuke and Naruto and Sakura around so you're using me as a substitute," he declared blandly, and he felt a bit of smug satisfaction at the flicker of surprise in Kakashi's eye. Then the man's expression returned to normal and he shrugged.
"Close enough." Before Masaru could question what that meant Kakashi had swiped the basket from him. "Let's go get this laundry done, okay?" Without giving Masaru a chance to answer he swept out of the apartment, leaving the boy to watch him in confusion.
This chapter was a doozy! Between the battle, checking in with Kabuto, the flashback from Jiraiya and the omake, this chapter clocked in at over 7,000 words! I'll make this note short.
This chapter ends with some information about a very important aspect: Ryoko was one of Jiraiya's genin. This has been planned for a while and I've been hinting at it since her conversation with Minato in Kakashi's dream, but honestly I'm still a bit nervous about it. I don't want ANY of my characters to seem like Mary Sues, and while it's only backstory, this still really ventures towards dangerous cliche territory in my opinion. I hope you guys approve!
On that note, I'll say one more thing: When this story reaches 100 reviews on Fanfiction or 50 bookmarks on AO3, I'll post an omake about their bell test. I figure I might as well do something to celebrate reaching milestones. Of course, I'll come up with another idea for when I reach the goals on the other site. Maybe I'll let you guys give some input on what to do?
