Sealing Salientia - Chapter 32: Smack - Author: PenSmoke

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor make any profit from writing this.

Previously on Sealing Salientia: Naruto was about to turn away and leave to the Academy, when his ears picked up Neji's voice again. "Auntie? Can I enroll in the Academy?"

Konoha
Wednesday, October 14th, Year 71

Itachi walked alongside his father as they meandered towards the Hokage tower, early in the morning. The building reflected the early morning light, especially the towers around the symbol for Konoha at the top, making it shine like four pillars of flame. It felt rather appropriate considering their country's name and the prevalence of that type of technique within the village.

The teenager looked to his right, at his father. Dressed in the Hokage robes, the man was an imposing presence. Over the past years, since being appointed, there had been a noticeable change in the man, from Itachi's perspective at least. Prior to the promotion, his father was often sour and moody, away late at night meeting at the clan's hidden shrine with the elders. At home, the man wasn't pleased by anything but the absolute best, and even then, perfection was met with acceptance as if that was expected.

Now, however, the attitude had softened. Where perfection before had merely been adequate, now there was praise for accomplishments, sometimes even small ones. He was often seen with a smile on his face and could even be considered 'jovial'. The man laughed and told jokes, creating an air of informality that Itachi would have thought not possible years ago. Even now, he watched as his father waved to civilians down the street, greeting them by name. Being the Hokage had drastically shifted the personality, and Itachi felt it was a welcome relief. He let a smile of his own comes across his face.

Life had been much easier since Sasuke came around as well. While the first few months had been hard with a new baby in the house, once the boy had started to become a kid of his own, Itachi had noticed a shift in attention of his parents from doting on their only child, to spreading out the love between them. Which was great for Itachi, as he had often felt that he was smothered by the affections of his mother. Now, after his promotion to chunin, he was going to get a whole new level of freedom.

Two new figures walked towards them, appearing out from the door of Konoha's orphanage, each carrying a small load of personal belongings. Itachi waved at his two teammates, who were packing up to find a place of their own after being promoted to chunin along with him. They were now all considered to be adults in the eyes of the village, and with the new income they would be getting after their promotion, it was time to move on from the orphanage.

Iruka and Kabuto both fell in step with the Hokage and their teammate, exchanging greetings with both. After a moment of silence, Itachi spoke up first. "Anyone willing to take in two slobs like you yet?" His smile transformed into a smirk.

"Kabuto might stink, but I don't!"

"Hey!"

"Have you smelled yourself today?"

"It's just because Orochimaru made me clean up the lab chemicals last night!"

Itachi watched his teammates bicker and let the smirk grow. When he had first been paired with the older duo, he wasn't sure if he would be able to fit in with their established bond. Especially considering the circumstances that left him looking for a team to begin with, he wasn't sure he wanted to form a bond with new comrades.

After a few bumps, a clash in personalities and a couple of missions, they had meshed and finally found their groove. Itachi had helped pushed the two long-time genin further, and they had helped him develop some under-utilized skills. Their jonin-sensei of the time, Masuya Sarutobi, had helped enforce them becoming well-rounded ninja, using his prior experience to mold them into high powered shinobi. While Itachi wouldn't brag about it, the most recent Kumo chunin exam had been ridiculously easy for his team, they had breezed through it without even being touched.

In fact, that's why the three were all heading to the tower today, to make their promotions official and fill out of the paperwork required. As well as see what new assignments they would get. Well, what assignments he and Iruka would get. Kabuto was already an established apprentice of Orochimaru and worked frequently alongside the Sannin in his laboratory for technological research, and Itachi didn't see a reason for that to change. Kabuto was masterful at gathering information and was an incredibly quick learner.

An elbow to the side jolted him from his thoughts. "Hey, Itachi, you alright there?"

"Yeah, Iruka, I'm fine. Was just thinking."

Iruka tossed his head back in a bark of laughter. "Itachi, lost in thought? Who would have ever guessed? Like that's never happened before!" The sarcasm was dripping from the words coming from the boy's mouth.

Kabuto joined in on the razzing. "Itachi not getting lost in thought would be like Iruka not wanting to dissect an animal!"

Iruka yelped. "Hey! I don't dissect everything!"

The bickering continuing for quite some time, going back and forth between all three, insults flying around. That is, until the Hokage made a hushing motion as they approached the tower. All three shinobi immediately responded to the command from their superior officer, quieting down immediately and following him into the building.

As they climbed the stairs up to the Hokage's office, Iruka's elbow found his side yet again. The scarred teen whispered, "So, did your dad let anything slip about where we'll be assigned?"

Itachi leaned closer and whispered back, "Nope, not a word. I tried too, nothing worked."

Kabuto joined in with "I hope he puts us together, that'd be great."

To which, Iruka got a disgusting look on his face. "Ewww, I'm not getting locked up with Orochimaru and his experiments. Put me in the hospital, please."

Itachi stifled a laugh. The conflict between the two was always funny. They basically never did anything but argue back and forth, and yet were still the best of friends he had ever seen.

A few steps later, and they entered the Hokage's office. The two older boys took the chairs, while Itachi remained standing beside them, not taking the third chair or the couch that was in the room for visitors to sit. As Fugaku took off his hat and threw open the curtains to let the light in, Itachi prepared for what was to come next. He wasn't sure what sort of mission capability he would be assigned to. ANBU was definitely a possibility. He knew that Shisui was a member and would love to work alongside his best friend that was an Uchiha. The Hokage settled into his large comfortable chair, propped his legs up on the desk, and spoke.

"Yes, I overheard you. I know that you'd prefer to continue working together. However, that will not be possible due to obligations that must be fulfilled." A chorus of sighing and a groan resonated from the boys before he continued. "Kabuto, as you suspected, you will be assigned to the Technological Development department under the watch of Orochimaru and staff. He will have further details for you as to what you will be doing, but I suspect it will be a continuation of your impressive work so far. Might I say that the development of an equivalent soldier pill that speeds up cellular regeneration temporarily that you were part of is an amazing accomplishment. I'm sure it will save many lives in the future. You should be proud."

Kabuto flushed under the praise from his Hokage and received a couple of pokes from his teammates.

"Itachi, I had been hoping to delay this moment for a while yet, but the Daimyo is calling on me to fulfill a promise that we made a while ago. As you may remember, as part of the deal that helped me dissolve that nuisance of a civilian council, I promised him an enhanced guard, always having an Uchiha within the Twelve Guardians. As the most recent deployment is scheduled to conclude at the end of October, and he witnessed your performance at the most recent exams, he requested you personally." Fugaku waved a hand-written note on gold-embroidered paper that had the symbol of the Fire Daimyo and of the Twelve Guardians. "I've made the arrangements so that you will be his replacement, to be dispatched as well as two others. Here is a scroll with more details." Itachi, upon grabbing the proferred paper, did remember being told something about that long ago but hadn't expected that to be so soon. If the Daimyo had chosen him specifically, there probably wasn't too much that could be done to change it. Opening the scroll by breaking the official seal, he started mentally cataloging what he would need to bring and how he could prepare for the assignment.

Itachi caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Iruka's face lit up for a second. Fugaku raised a hand to stop the gesture. "I'm sorry Iruka, those two positions were already filled and hand-picked by the Daimyo. You were not among those chosen." Iruka's scarred face dropped down into a frown.

"You will however be eligible to enter into ANBU, should you choose. The Commander took note of your enhanced sensory and medical abilities and would like you to join the force to both help enhance the ANBU's medical training and make you into an elite shinobi." Iruka looked up, a smile on his face, though not as big as the previous one had been.

They were sensible positions. The three of them were highly skilled shinobi, practically jonin by skill-level at this point, the chunin exams had shown them to be far above the rest of the competitors. The combination of higher quality instruction having been started during their timeframe, and their prodigious skill had made the promotions basically a formality. It made no sense to squander their abilities by either keeping them together and wasting potential, nor to send them into standard assignments that most ordinary ninja could complete.

Even though Itachi could see the sensibility of it, that didn't mean that he was happy about it. He rather liked working with the team that he had grown accustomed to, and didn't want to leave friends and family behind, especially for an extended mission. The scroll had mentioned a year minimum, with the chance to resign on at the end of the term for up to 6 years consecutively. While he had been out on missions plenty of times, the longest any of those had taken was just over a month, and that was the Chunin Exams.

Struggling with how to voice his displeasure in a proper manner, he lost the opportunity to do so. They were dismissed from his father's office, in favor of another meeting that needed to be accomplished. The three walked out with nary a word spoken between them all the way through the halls and stairs of the tower. After exiting the front door and spilling out onto the street, Iruka, the chattiest of the team, broke the quiet.

"So… This sucks."

Kabuto winced and replied, "Yeah."

Itachi finished with, "Mhmm."

Three teenagers walked down the streets of Konoha, not entirely certain what the future may hold for them as they were removed from the relative comfort of a genin team and thrust out into the world of being a chunin.

Spying a familiar form walking through the streets, Itachi bid his companions farewell while they sorted out their own apartment issues and new assignments. He had a smaller brother to pick on. It was always good for some light-hearted moments, which he felt he needed at the moment.

After departing his friends, he went into full stealth mode, weaving an illusory technique around himself that he knew his baby brother wouldn't pick up on. He got in the walking path of Sasuke, knowing which direction he was heading by the time of day and his attire. As the younger passed the elder, an arm shot out and snagged the bottom corner of a book in Sasuke's hand, tugging it downwards out of his grasp. Releasing it a split-second later to let gravity take over and have it clatter to the ground seemingly under the sol influence of gravity, Itachi got ready to pull off phase two.

The confused look that Sasuke shot at the book almost made him laugh, but he held it in for the moment. As Sasuke knelt to grab the book from the ground, Itachi placed a hand just over the boys head. When his little brother straightened up, his hand clamped around the hair, freezing the boy in place.

He had his own face in perfect position to whisper into the ear of the restrained brother. "Foolish little brother."

Letting him go with a light shove and dispelling the technique, Itachi howled in laughter at the chagrined look on Sasuke face as he sat in the dirty street after tumbling forward from the push.

Sasuke yelled, drawing out the last syllable of his name in a whining voice. "Itachi! That was not nice!" Recovering a moment later, the embarrassment faded from Sasuke's face, replaced with excitement. "Hey! Can you walk with me to school today?"

Sasuke had developed something of a complex towards his older brother, idolizing him to a point that might even be unhealthy, at least in Itachi's eyes. Whenever he could, the little Uchiha asked for training or the go with him wherever, and if there was anyone around, Sasuke delighted in showing off what his big brother could do.

Which wasn't all bad. It meant that Sasuke was training hard to keep up with him, and it helped Itachi keep an eye on the boy's progress. While Itachi had been heralded as a genius from the very beginning, nobody else seemed to see Sasuke as one.

Except for him. Itachi could see the potential building in the boy. Sasuke worked insanely hard to keep up with him, to the point of exhaustion and collapse. While there may not be quite as much raw talent as his big brother, Sasuke showed every inclination to be building himself to be far more than Itachi would ever be capable of.

Which made the leaving for at least a year difficult. While a little brother was often a bit of a nuisance, Itachi loved Sasuke more than he cared to admit. On days when Sasuke didn't bug him for extra training, he would feel lonely. The past month when he had been at the Chunin Exams he been especially trying, and it had only been the absence that really made him notice the difference.

"Alright, Sasuke. Can I show you a technique on the way?"

Sasuke practically yelped in excitement and agreement.

Jiraiya sleepily opened his eyes, automatically starting to raise his arms above his head to stretch out his muscles after a long rest. By Log, that had been an amazing sleep. He honestly wanted to curl back up into the warmth and snuggle in for a few more hours. But he knew that he would have to get up and get Naruto ready to go, plus he had things to do as well.

His arms were struggling though. His left had raised only after extra muscle power had cleared it free of the obstacle around it, and his right wouldn't move at all. Turning his eyes in that direction, and sleepily blinking them a few times to try and focus on the reason revealed green and white cloth as well as a vast expanse of pale skin laying on top of his arm. Tsunade had fallen asleep grasping his left arm, and on top of his right as he had been rubbing her back in small circular motions as a comforting gesture while she drifted off. Apparently, he hadn't moved from that point and had fallen asleep there as well.

Positioning his feet firmly on the floor to help brace to remove his right arm from the predicament, he began the extraction process. He only made it a couple of centimeters before the woman in front of him squirmed a bit. He waited a few seconds and tried some more.

This time, Tsunade softly moaned, "Mmmm-mmmm," and his heart melted.

He couldn't pass up this opportunity to be snuggled up next to the woman he had always desired so much. Especially when she was practically begging him to be there.

Jiraiya gave up on trying to move away from her grasp and sat right back down, leaning into her warmth. He felt the warm tickle of breath against his neck as her exhalations smoothed back out into a rhythmic pattern. Her chest heaved up and down with each breath, and even though he was in the perfect position to ogle, he felt… odd.

He had spent years wandering around the world, never once ashamed of overtly staring at an attractive woman. He had seen more naked ladies than most other people combined. He had witnessed bathing beauties in the lakes and rivers, towel-clad knockouts at the hot springs, and beautiful women in formal dress. And while they all had made his heart race and his blood flow, they still had never been enough.

Now, with the female he thought was the most attractive in the entire world, he felt no desire to peek at the nearly exposed bosom right next to him. Instead, he averted his eyes from the erogenous zone and stared at her face, taking in the contours of her nose and eyes. Reaching up to run a thumb along her cheekbone, he reveled in the soft "hmmmm" that escaped her lips in her slumber.

Taking in his surroundings, he noted that Naruto was nowhere in sight. Stretching out his senses, he noted that he wasn't in the apartment anymore either. While a part of him worried for the boy, Naruto had already shown amazing flexibility and independence for being in Konoha, and the boy was trained well. He decided that he would drop by the Academy whenever he had freed himself just to ensure the boy had made it.

Judging by the sun's position it wasn't too late in the morning, so he snuggled right back up next to the soft form beside him and curled up. Alas, it was not to last.

The form next to him had been disturbed enough that it brought the first rousing thoughts of consciousness to the mind that occupied the body, slowly dragging it into awareness from peaceful repose. As Tsunade began to stir, Jiraiya pouted that the moment had been ruined, but knew it was likely for the best. They both had responsibilities to attend to and couldn't afford to just lounge around whenever.

The buxom blonde next to him raised her own arms in a stretching manner similar to his own a few minutes prior. Movement completed, she opened amber eyes, and looked around. Noticing his proximity, Jiraiya saw the various stages of information gathered to conclusion reached in her mind.

At first, the corners of her mouth turned downward in an angry scowl. He would bet his first volume of Icha Icha earnings that she was thinking along the lines of "How dare Jiraiya touch me!"

After that, before any anger actually spilled forth, he could see the eyes shift upwards and to the side, recollecting the events of last night. The memories of the previous connected and the anger instantly faded, a slight rosy blush forming on her cheeks.

A moment later, she pushed herself up off of the couch quickly, sputtering words. "I'm… I'm sorry. You know… I didn't mean to bother you… I'm sorry. I should go."

Jiraiya instantly reached out and grabbed her shaking hand. "No." He spoke with a firm authority, which didn't match how he felt inside. But he recognized a woman that was in pain, be it mental or physical. And he'd fail to live up to his own self-given nickname if he just let a woman who was suffering go out without trying to help them. "You should stay. I'll make some tea."

Tsunade almost fought back. He could feel the tension in her arm as she contemplated yanking it out of his grasp, which he knew she was damn well capable of doing. But when the tension dissipated, he knew that she didn't really want to leave just yet. It was shame and uncomfortableness making her want to leave. She had shown a weakened and vulnerable side of herself to him, and now was mortified about how he might react to it. He could see it in her eyes, the beautiful orbs had a start of a tear already forming again, and she refused to make direct eye contact with him.

He gently pulled her back to the couch, while getting up himself. He watched her pull into herself, creating as small of a shape as possible. After she resembled a sphere as best she could, she looked up at him for just a moment, before averting her gaze again. "Are you sure?"

Jiraiya knew what the correct answer was. And thankfully, it was the honest answer. "With all my heart." He walked into the kitchen, confident that she wouldn't try to run off. After filling up the pot with water and heating it with a small fire technique, he procured two pouches of tea leaves and placed them in his only two mugs. Pouring the water delicately over the greenery, he steeped the concoction into a sweet-smelling brew.

Taking the two mugs over to the living room, he handed one to her, rather than setting it down on the table. This would force her to break the ball-shape she had taken, physically and mentally helping her open up again. His heart ached to see the strong woman that he knew reduced to such a state. But matters of the heart leave no boundary for the strength of the body. They take the soul in whichever direction they want, regardless of your mental fortitude. And watching Tsunade get swept away in the emotional turmoil of her situation was devastating.

He sat down on the opposing end of the couch. Far enough away to give her space if she felt it was needed, but close enough to react to whatever it was that happened. Taking a sip of tea, he waited to see if she would say something first. The waited went from seconds to minutes, and he decided that she wasn't going to say anything unprompted.

He wasn't sure what tact would be useful here. And he was usually blunt and straight-forward in his normal life, so he went with the thought that had been on his mind the most.

"So… Orochimaru, huh? I'll be honest, I never thought you were serious when we were kids."

He could see the light in her eyes dim, and instantly knew it had been the wrong sentence to say in this case. He didn't really know what else to say though, so he plowed ahead, trying to turn the mood a bit lighter.

"I never pictured him as being a romantic though. Something about snakes and romance seems to just not mix. I just keep picturing Manda in a top hat with a little bow tie, hissing out "Would you care to go on a date with me, perhapssssss?" He drew out the stereotypical snake hiss at the end of the word, while miming his best Manda impression. This time, it worked, he got a half-hearted chuckle from her.

"So, how did it happen? I mean you and Orochimaru, not Manda asking a summoner on a date."

A very long pause ensued after, and Jiraiya was just about to open his mouth to try and unstick his foot from it, when he heard her voice. Low and soft, she started talking.

"Shizune and I had returned to the village. And, it was just like I had feared at first. Everyone reminding me of the past, asking how I was doing, if I was okay. I hated it. I lost myself even further in sake and drank away most days and nights. I'm pretty sure there are entire months I don't remember. Then Hiruzen told me about the medical school, and Fugaku making my dream come true for training medical corps. And I decided to give it a try."

A long breath and Tsunade slightly uncurled from her position, relaxing a small amount. Jiraiya listened with rapt attention and held his breath as best he could, not daring to make a noise that could disturb her speech. She was slowly talking louder, though her voice could still barely be considered audible.

"As I changed from getting lost in alcohol to getting lost in work, Orochimaru approached me about working on a regenerative pill. He was trying to research something that would increase the speed of cellular growth that could be fast-acting if ingested. We spent hours talking about the concept."

Another long exhale and inhale, and her voice was stronger now.

"We spent long nights working together and experimenting on how to make it work. It was nice. He never once brought up the past. He never once made me think of what everyone else thought of me. The only thing that seemed to matter to him was the experiment. He made me feel useful and wanted. Appreciated."

A long sigh, as some new dam of emotion and realization broke over her.

"And I guess I was so desperate for it, that I latched on and claimed it as love. Looking back, I saw it all along as something else, but just desperately wanted it to be more. I had this empty feeling inside me, and I wanted something to fill it. There was never enough sake. There was never enough work. But, I had hoped. Maybe. It wouldn't be… He could never be… Dan. But I wanted so badly for something to be there. One night while we were working, I leaned over and kissed him. Right on the lips."

Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat. And another. The thought of her kissing Orochimaru's slimy snake lips turned his stomach around and made him feel nauseous. But this wasn't his time to show that emotion. This was her time. He forced it down and continued to listen, all while making direct eye contact to show he was attentive.

"He didn't flinch away. He didn't say anything right away. Instead, he looked at me. And examined me. Like I was some object that he could gain knowledge of. After a minute, he leaned over and kissed me back. And when that was done, he said 'Interesting.' And went right back to work. And it just progressed from there. Each night, we'd do something else, something new, slowly pushing forward. He always was interested and never once rejected anything, always seeming to treat whatever was done with rapt attention, as if it was something to learn and catalog."

Jiraiya was sure that his heart had completely stopped working now. He felt like there was no blood in his body, that his brain had been turned off and that he was a dead man sitting on a couch. There was no reaction because he was certain that his brain couldn't produce one.

Tsunade looked up at him in the eyes, and he met her gaze. She spoke the next part with perfect clarity, no longer soft or gentle.

"The bastard treated me like everything else, and I fell for it. I was just some experiment to him, some way to learn something new. Once he had learned everything he needed, he just tossed me out like garbage."

The eyes were filled with passion now, anger returning forefront to her emotions. This jumpstarted his heart back into working, as an angry Tsunade was a threat even to a dead man. Once his brain was able to formulate a response again, he spoke.

"Well, then, I think revenge may be best served cold for now. Does he know about… that?" Jiraiya pointed towards her midsection. Tsunade nodded firmly in the negative.

"Can I ask a question?" Judging by the lack of response, he was clear to ask one, but he may or may not get an answer.

"How does a top-tier medical ninja get pregnant if she didn't want to?"

Instantly the anger faded and bashful Tsunade returned. If it wasn't for the subject matter at hand, he felt that he rather liked this version of his princess. "Well… uhm… you see… I never…. Took any…. You know… P-precautions." Her speech was lined with breaks and pauses, even a stutter in there. The difference in personality was vast, but not atypical for a female who was dealing with emotional trauma. Hell, he felt like both hugging and consoling his friend while at the same time, punching the head off his other former teammate.

"I… see. Are you… Are you going to keep it?" Jiraiya asked.

The shocked look on Tsunade's face was enough of an answer, but the raised pitch voice after solidified it. "What do you mean?" Her face reddened more. "Is that what you think of me?" Her words were practically shouting now and she had leapt to her feet. "You think that I would kill an innocent baby?" She pulled her arm backwards in preparation of a massive punch.

Jiraiya instantly back-pedaled for fear of changing the subject of Tsunade's wrath back to himself. For the second time this morning, he attempted to extricate his foot from his mouth.

"No! No! I was just asking. Because, you know… It wasn't planned… and with… him!"

It was already too late. The radiative power had already swirled up around her, the chakric energy pulsating the air upwards. Her long hair tousled in the wind, flicking the ends up and down, as a tick mark appeared on her forehead. As he jumped up in a defensive pose, her fist exploded forward. He barely managed to block the blow, but that only meant that he didn't take the damage to his ribcage.

Multiple cracks appeared along the bones in his forearms as the kinetic energy blasted into them, sending him flying backwards. The speed at which he was propelled was enough to fling him directly through the kitchen counter, the cupboards and the external wall. A small cloud of dust and debris rocketed out of the apartment complex wall, sending chunks of drywall and ruined plates raining down on the streets below. Jiraiya, spinning head over heels from the impact, flew much further, crashing down into a grassy park a few blocks away, ending up against the base of a nearby shade tree, ass up in the air.

Even from the distance he was at, through his concussed state, he could hear the scream.

"IDIOT!"

AN: A fluff/filler chapter sorta. I wanted to explore a bit into Itachi's mind, and make it known that he would be gone for the next little bit, which will play a part in various things. Jiraiya and Tsunade also begged to be delved into a bit more before we had back to the Naruto show. And the individual scenes themselves weren't enough to warrant separate chapters, so they get squished into one. Next up, further development on Naruto/Kurama and the beginnings of tailed beast teaching about chakra.