She was ready to blow a hole in the stupid toad's side, mercy towards innocent animals be damned! Not only had the kunoichi been trapped, she had been trapped by someone who knew that monster. She glanced around the stomach that she was trapped in, looking for any weak points. Unfortunately, she was unable to find any, but that wasn't going to stop her from getting as far from her white haired captor as possible. Reaching up to the seal on her upper arm the kunoichi summoned a small vial and tossed its contents onto the floor of the toad's stomach. As soon as the liquid hit the pink flesh it began to smoke and blister, curls of vapor rising before the horrified face of her captor before they both lost their footing as the stomach lurched. The next thing she knew, she had been spewed out onto the cold mud along with a foul smelling green bile. Coughing and gagging she staggered to her feet, fully intending to run for the protection of the forest, but a large hand on her shoulder stopped the kunoichi in her tracks. She turned towards her attacker with a snarl and a fist full of kunai but a sharp blow to the back of her neck stopped the kunoichi in her tracks. She slumped towards the ground unconscious but a strong arm around her middle stopped her from falling once again into the cold mud.

Jiraiya looked down at his captive with a frown, she was fever hot to the touch and trembling even as he felt her chakra flare in an attempt to remain alert to danger even while unconscious. Although he was angered by the damage that she had done to his Shop Toad summon Jiraiya couldn't really blame her for her actions. He had been the one to trap the kunoichi and bringing up Orochimaru had obviously touched a sore spot with her. With such a rocky start to meeting to girl Jiraiya could almost see his hopes for Icha Icha Rogue Kunoichi flying away with the wind. He could only hope that food, care, and shelter would soften her temper and make the kunoichi more receptive to his propositions. Jiraiya gently wrapped the girl in a cloak from his pack before lifting her into his arms. He frowned slightly at how light she was, her dead weight barely registering to his battle-strengthened arms. Turning towards the road Jiraiya set off at an easy pace towards the nearest town and hotel.

The kunoichi groaned as sunlight shone across her eyelids. She didn't want to wake up, she was too warm and the pallet under her was sooooo soft…wait, soft? Comfortable? Wasn't she fighting someone before she fell unconscious?

She sat up with a start before groaning and falling back onto the pillow holding her aching head. It felt like a snake was slowly constricting her brain while simultaneously injecting alternating shots of ice and lave into her bloodstream. She whimpered slightly and curled into a ball, consciousness bringing with it the full force of her illnesses attack on her body. A hand on her shoulder brought the kunoichi out of her thoughts and she turned to see her captor kneeling at her bedside. He wordlessly held a glass of water to her lips and she drank, too tired to fight or check for drugs. At this point she would welcome death with open arms. Maybe she would even be able to see her loved ones again. A grunt brought her back to reality.

"Do you think that you could eat something?" Her stomach tightened at the thought of food but the nausea lurking at the back of her throat warned the kunoichi that eating might not be a good idea. She shook her head slightly but groaned when the motion only worsened her headache. The white-haired man pressed a cool rag her forehead before moving to get up. She weakly grabbed at his sleeve, missing it entirely.

"Wait," she croaked, "can't I at least know your name?" The man's eyes widened slightly before he threw his head back and gave a loud bark of laughter, startling the kunoichi.

"My apologies, I guess I never really got the chance to introduce myself!" he laughed while scratching the mole on the left side of his nose, "I am Mt. Myoboku's Holy Master Sennin! One of the Legendary Sannin! The Great Jiraiya!" As he made his announcements the Jiraiya struck a pose that he must have thought looked impressive but just looked stupid to the kunoichi. As she was beginning to wonder if this man was really one of the Sannin she suddenly found a finger pointing between her eyes. "So! Since I have introduced myself, what would your name be, Rogue Kunoichi-san?" Narrowing her eyes, the kunoichi pushed the offending finger away from her face before crossing her arms and looking away, nose in the air.

"I don't have a name and even if I did I wouldn't tell if to a liar like you!"

"Liar!?"

"No one who looks as ridiculous as you do could possibly be one of the Legendary Three."

"I can prove it!"

"No you can't!"

"Hah!" With a cry Jiraiya drew an old photograph from his hanten and shoved it into the kunoichi's face. "Now tell me that I'm not one of the Sannin!" Taking the photo from him the kunoichi examined the picture. It was a team photograph, worn and faded from years of abuse. A man with spiky brown hair grinned behind three small children, two scowling boys and one grinning girl. The boy on the left was a perfect miniature of the man in front of her, even if the red eye markings were shorter in the picture, however it was the boy on the right that she found her eyes reluctantly drawn to. She would know that ghostly pallor and those purple markings anywhere. With a shrug she held the picture back over to Jiraiya and turned away. "So? Have I proved myself?"

"Maybe but I still don't have a name to give you," Jiraiya frowned down at the girl. Her eyes were scrunched up as if in pain and her arms were crossed across her body as if she was trying to hold herself together. She didn't seem to be in physical pain…oh. Jiraiya remembered her almost violent reaction to the mention of Orochimaru and looked down at the photo.

"Are there other questions about yourself that you would answer in place of giving your name?" he asked gently, deciding that pushing the girl for answers was probably not the best course of action when she was still so sick.

"That would depend on the question," she ground out before glaring at him. Jiraiya sat back on his heels, hand on his chin in thought. What could he ask that would tell him something about her without her knowing that he was learning something important?

"What is your favorite snack?" Jiraiya grinned at his own genius. Certain foods were found only in certain regions of the world and it was a good bet that the girl's favorite snack was from her homeland.

"My favorite…snack? Hmmmm," what was her favorite snack? The girl looked down at the blankets covering her legs as she thought. It had been so long since she had even had a snack, much less a favorite. I haven't even had a dango since… "Dango, dango would be my favorite snack."

"Aaah," Drat! That isn't very region specific! "Any favorite festivals?"

"Never been to one."

"Favorite flower?"

"Tsubaki (camellia)."

"Favorite…"

"If you're trying to find out where I'm from with your questions Jiraiya-sama you're not going to succeed. I may be ill but I'm not stupid." Jiraiya had the decency to look slightly embarrassed at least.

"My apologies but you can't blame me for being curious can you?"

"I cannot but I do have a question for you. Why are you so interested in my story?"

"I would like to use it in my books."

"Books?" Jiraiya suddenly seemed to glow with excitement. He sprang from her bedside and almost ran to his bags on the other side of the room. Springing back, he carried an orange book in his hand. A very familiar orange book. Jiraiya froze and cocked his head in curiosity as he watched a very interesting shade of red slowly creep across the kunoichi's face. "You, you're not serious, are you? You're the author of those books?!"

"I am! I, Jiraiya, am the one and only author of the world famous (ahem infamous) Icha Icha series." The kunoichi's face went from rose to beet red and she buried her face in her hands, the redness spreading to the tips of her ears. She mumbled something into her hands that Jiraiya couldn't understand. "I'm sorry what was that?"

"Mmmmmm mumble grrrr."

"Sorry?"

"I SAID I OWN ALL OF YOUR STUPID BOOKS ALRIGHT!" The kunoichi turned an even brighter shade of red if possible and turned away from Jiraiya to bury her face in her pillow.

"Hoooooooh! Is that right?" Jiraiya grinned and slid his hair back. He was in front of a fan after all, he had to make sure that he looked good. "So how does a young woman such as yourself come by such material? You look like you're barely old enough for them."

"If you must know," she growled, lifting her head from the pillow, "they have become something of a black market currency among rogues. The rarer the edition the higher the value. I simply made sure to collect the best editions that I could find. It's not like I like them or anything." She looked up to glare at Jiraiya but found that he had an odd look on his face. He was focused on her face, his eyes seeming to zero in on something. "What is it? Do I have something on my fa-huh?!"

Jiraiya gripped the girls face tightly in his hand, staring hard at the small tear in the skin between her right eye and her nose that had appeared. The tear did not bleed but seemed to reveal purplish skin underneath. He lifted his other hand and gently ran a finger along the tear. The girl froze at his touch and her wide blue eyes grew even larger in fear. Jiraiya shifted so that his weight held her down, he wasn't about to let her escape him again. He carefully pinched the edge of the tear between two fingers and slowly pulled the second skin away. Repeating the process on the other eye Jiraiya sat back, shocked at his discovery. Violet markings, faded from her ill health, surrounded the girl's eyes before extending down to halfway down her nose. The pallor, the markings, the slitted pupils, and the fangs, all were traits that she could have inherited from one man. Jiraiya stared down at the frightened kunoichi before giving a soft smile.

"It's been a long time, Areina-chan."