"There is sand in my pants."

"Shut up pervy no brain. There's sand in all of our clothes."

"I bet there's lots of sand in your bra since you have no boobs!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Orochimaru sighed as the Tsunade pounded Jiraiya deep into the sand. He came to a stop and put a hand to his eyes to shield it. As far as the eye can see... a sea of glittering gold and huge dunes. The air was dry and hot, making it feel like he was breathing through a piece of paper. The only thing to interrupt the ocean of sand around them was the occasional brown rocks, reaching up as if they were drowning in the sand as well.

Jiraiya shook sand out of his snow white hair as he came to his side. "Are we there yet? I'm never delivering another scroll to the Sand if we have to cross this stupid desert every time."

Orochimaru answered emotionlessly, "As far as I can see, it's all sand. We still have a long way to go."

"How can you even see anything? It's so bright," whined Jiraiya, his eyes squinting into lines.

Tsunade pouted as she adjusted her medic side bag. "I'm more concerned about what this is doing to my skin. It's cracking."

Orochimaru continued reading the map and walking. "Let's hurry. I don't like the desert as much as you two."

Five hours later...

"It's so hot," complained Jiraiya, fanning himself with both hands.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, chosen of the frogs. Oh!" Orochimaru stumbled and quickly steadied himself.

Immediately, Jiraiya and Tsunade whipped around. Orochimaru never ever trips... Not only that, he was rubbing his cheek and yawning sleepily, his topaz colored eyes glowing. Leaning over to Tsunade, Jiraiya said under his breath, "Is something wrong with him? He looks kinda like my dad when he drank too much."

"We're twelve," Tsunade pointed out. "We can't drink."

Jiraiya gasped. "Hey! He even has color in his cheeks." Indeed, Orochimaru's usually pale cheeks were flushed a pretty pink. With the way he was currently looking, Jiraiya thought his friend really looked like a girl at the moment. They scrambled to his side and he poked him. "Hey Oro, what's the matter with you?"

"I'm hot, hungry, and sleepy," he said, swaying on his feet. That was the more polite way of saying 'I'm burning through my clothes, my stomach is burning a hole in itself and my eyeballs are trying to burn out of my sockets'.

Jiraiya rummaged into his backpack. "I only ate half of my pork bun for lunch. You can have the waaaaaaaah!" Orochimaru fell against him and the two hit the sand hard. Spitting out a mouthful of sand, he shouted, "Tsunade! Something isn't right with him!"

He didn't even need to shout that as she was already down on her knees and looking him over. "I think he's overheating," she said worriedly as she checked his temperature. Taking out a handkerchief and wetting it with water from her bottle, she said, "We need to find shade and let him rest. Help carry him, Jiraiya."

"It's hot but it's not that hot," grumbled Jiraiya, putting Orochimaru's arm over his shoulder to help him stand. "Is he sick or something?"

"Can't be. I checked and we're all in good health when we left the village," Tsunade said, wiping Orochimaru's forehead.

"Well then, maybe Oro really is just a wimp or something then," Jiraiya said as he struggled to walk with all the baggage he was carrying.

After he regained consciousness, Tsunade and Jiraiya passed him some food and water. Beneath an outcrop of a large rock that was shading them, Orochimaru wiped the water from his lips, his eyes hard. "I didn't plan for something like this," he said lowly. "I'm... sorry."

Orochimaru rarely apologized for anything, noted Jiraiya. What in the world was going on? "Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked hesitantly.

Tsunade blinked her large hazel eyes and inched closer to him. "Other than overheating, all your other vital signs are fine. You just need to rest for half an hour."

Orochimaru shook his head. "My... my body can't handle this direct radiation and heat." Almost ashamed, he said, "I can't travel during the day."

Tsunade gasped as she realized. "I get it! All of the snakes in the desert are only active at night because they can't withstand the heat during the day. Their metabolism runs too fast and their protein structures break down."

Surprised to hear how well-versed she was in snake biology, he could only nod dumbly. On the other hand, Jiraiya looked like he was just presented with a graduate physics problem. "What does snakes being active during the night have to do with Oro? He's human, right?" Jiraiya leaned in close to his friend's face. "Just because you kinda have the snake eyes and everything, doesn't mean you're part snake or something, right?"

"You're invading my personal space," Orochimaru said, their nose literally a centimeter apart. When Jiraiya backed off, he folded his legs together and said slowly, "It should be obvious by now. You can tell that my features aren't quite normal." Touching his slit shaped eyes, he said, "My parents immigrated to Konohagakure like many others when Lord Hashirama built the village. Like those who were displaced from war, we wanted to find a new home. The clan I'm from is now extinct."

"That sounds sad," Jiraiya said glumly.

Orochimaru shrugged. There was no feeling of attachments as he never even knew of any fellow clan members. He continued, "My clan's speciality is snake techniques and poisons. Over generations, our body adopted certain snake-like characteristics. Which is why you noticed me smelling with my tongue, not sweating and disliking cold food. It drops my body temperature and makes me sleepy. Now that we're in the desert, I'm in danger of overheating."

"Unique characteristics... like how my grandmother's clan is talented with sealing and they live long?" asked Tsunade.

"Yes." Orochimaru then turned to the sand around them and sighed.

Jiraiya knew what he was thinking and said, "Hey, sometimes ninjas can't even sleep for a week during extreme missions. We just have to swap from waking at day to now waking at night. No big deal."

Behind his long obsidian black hair, Orochimaru muttered, "You're as optimistic as always..."

"If not for me, the team would drown in your doom and gloom," Jiraiya said with a grin, hitting his friend on the back. But then he asked, "So your parents moved to call Konoha their new home... do you consider it home?"

He was touched by Jiraiya's sudden insightful comment and he found it difficult to speak. "A place where people think about you is the place you can call home," he answered. Lowering his head, he said, "Without a family, I didn't believe that Konoha was home anymore."

"Orochimaru..." Tsunade said softly, seeing that same glimmer of sadness in his golden eyes.

"It's different now of course." He gave them both a sad smile. "I have Sarutobi-sensei, Tsunade-hime, and idiot here. I'd only ever abandon this village if you three abandoned me."

"Never!" Jiraiya said vehemently. "Who else am I supposed to bother with editing my rough draft story and talk guy stuff to? And your house is the only place I can hide my model swimsuit magazines."

Orochimaru was horrified. "You hid dirty magazines at my house?!"

"Aughhh! You pervert!" Tsunade socked Jiraiya in the face before turning back to her best friend. "I'll never leave you Orochi!" Her cheeks puffed up in annoyance. "I fought too hard to be friends with you. I refuse to lose you." She then turned to Jiraiya. "All three of us are going to be together forever, ok?!"

Jiraiya laughed. "That's a promise."

"As the princess wishes," Orochimaru replied, sharing a look with his white hair friend.

Tsunade nodded and stood up, happy with the end of the conversation. "Alright, let's try to get some sleep. We'll head out as soon as the moon is up in the sky."

Eight hours later...

Jiraiya spread his eyes wide, trying to keep from falling asleep as he dragged his feet through the sand. Why was he dragging his butt full of sand through more sand for some stupid scroll at midnight again? It's not like the mission paid that well.

"Idiot."

"What do you want?" yawned Jiraiya as Orochimaru walked in step with him.

His slit shaped yellow eyes moved to the side and he said quietly, "We're being followed."

Jiraiya's drowsiness disappeared and his shoulders tense. "How close?"

"They can be on us in half an hour. Take the front, I'll take the back and Tsunade will be in the middle. She has the scroll, so protect her at all cost and let's run." With that, he leaped backwards and they quickly assumed a linear line, dashing through the sand as quickly as possible. After awhile, a tall narrow valley came into view, cradling the entrance to some kind of ruin. But at the same time, a huge explosion sounded behind them and Orochimaru shouted, "Run! Don't look back!" Making three hand seals, he shouted, "Earth Release: Ground Dasher."

Jiraiya and Tsunade stumbled as the sand and earth beneath their feet hardened into a solid plate, carrying them forward at a tremendous speed.

"Hey what about you!" Jiraiya shouted.

"I'm coming." He bit his thumb and made the summoning seals. "Manda!"

"What is it now Orochimaru?" yawned the purple snake as it appeared. "This better-" He hissed when Orochimaru jumped on his head.

"Follow my teammates," he said, his eyes narrowing as ninjas covered from head to toe in black and wearing masks appeared into view. Two of them were running but the rest were surfing through the sand with some kind of technique. From their pouches, they threw more explosive tags in his direction and Manda flicked its forked tongue at the intruder in irritation before quickly slithering after Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Should I escape underground?" asked the giant snake.

"No, I'll counter." Making one hand seal with one hand, he used one of his favourite technique. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough." Bringing the two fingers to his lips, he breathed in deeply and expelled a large stream of pressurized air to try and keep them back and knock away their explosive seals. The counter was a perfect success as their own explosives hit them but then, his eyes widened when one popped up from beside him. Ducking the slash from the kunai, he shouted, "Manda!"

Manda grouched, "Using me as a surfboard and ordering me around... you have some nerve Orochimaru!" Slithering away to safety, it hissed and snapped at another that popped up to attack them from under the sand. A second one popped up but this time his snake was successful as its fangs pierced through the torso and bisected the person in half, leaving a trail of red blood amongst the glittering white sand.

Looking behind him, he could see some ruins nestled by two straddling mountains and he shouted, "Tsunade! Go inside that ruin and block the entrance!"

"What?!" cried Jiraiya. "How the hell will you get in?"

"I'll find another way in and meet up with you both," he reassured. He made his ground plate throw them forward before sending it crashing into two others, breaking their ribs and killing them instantly.

"Are you lying!" Tsunade shouted as she watched him fire blast after blasts of strong wind at their pursuers. She ducked from a blade aimed at her head. The swing was close as it shaved off some of her hair and the one who had attacked her, presumbly a girl as well, laughed.

"I do like to cut up things who are almost as pretty as me."

Tsunade winced as the blade stabbed deep into her arm. But it was just the opening she needed as she reeled her fist back and punched her deep in the stomach, sending her flying a few meters back. Wrenching out the blade, she tossed it and let it pierced through the neck of two others.

"You're bleeding!" Jiraiya said after unleashing a few fireballs.

"It's fine, I'll heal it later," she said, jumping up and spin kicking two of their enemies away.

"Jiraiya! Tsunade!" Orochimaru hissed. "GO! NOW!"

"Ok ok! Cover us!" Jiraiya yelled back.

He said to his snake, "Get me up that mountain, Manda." He watched as Tsunade and Jiraiya disappeared into the ruin after she punched the side of the mountain, causing a large rock slide to block it off. As he sped up the mountain on his snake, he couldn't help but admire Manda's amazing speed. They were putting good distance between themselves and their pursuers and once they were at the top, he jumped down and made four hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall." A giant wall of solid reenforced bedrock popped up below the valley, adding another layer of impenetrable defence to the entrance of the ruin. Satisfied, he jumped back onto Manda. "Let's get going-" His words were cut short as a chain was thrown over them. Manda squirmed and thrashed as the chains dug into it. Before he could help it, chains was looped around his neck, arms and legs, tying him to his snake. "Don't underestimate me." Glaring at the three that had caught him, his cheeks bulged out and he spat out a mouthful of poisonous green snakes that struck like lightning. They didn't expect the attack and all succumbed to his poison, their skin turning a grey green that was mottled with sick orange spots. Nonetheless, the rest caught up and one struck him in the face.

"Give us the antidote!"

He slowly licked away the drop of blood that spilled from his torn lips. "Or what?"

"If you don't, we'll kill you right now," said one, pressing a kunai to his neck.

His lips curved. "Kill me?" In the next second, his neck extended to a long length and he lashed his teeth into the throat of the one pressing the kunai to his throat. Brutally, he tore out the throat and spat it out with disgust as his opponent fell back, gurgling out blood as he died. "Manda." At his command, the snake disappeared and he freed himself from the loose chains, hopping backwards for distance to attack.

Under the light of the brilliant moon, he spat out the blood in his mouth and wiped at his red lips, his eyes a venomous crystal yellow. "Kill me?" he repeated, his voice ice cold. The wind began picking up and it tossed his dark long hair to and fro, his bangs framing his beautiful but deadly eyes. "How can you do that if you're dead?"

One of the masked ninjas choked and clutched at his throat. Blood soon erupted out in an explosive geyser and a snake hissed as it emerged and slide out, coming to his side and onto his shoulders.

"Koemi!"

"Koemi! What the hell did you do?!"

Stroking the beautiful blue snake that was dripping with blood, Orochimaru eyed the ground that was crawling with snakes the size of a pinky that he had released from his sleeves when he had been chained up. "They'll crawl into an open wound and expand once they eat at your chakra. Amusing no? But that's not the only trick I have in my sleeve." In a flash, he moved up to one of them with his mouth wide open. His sword extended out from his mouth and he pierced his sword through the eye and through the back of the skull, spilling out a large volume of blood and brain matter. "Next one." Pulling the sword back out of the man's head, he caught the handle as it dropped out of his mouth and he swiftly cut down two that leaped towards him.

"Why you!"

One of the kunoich spat out a torrent of pressured water with her technique and he retaliated with a lightning attack. "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder." Lightning shot out of his hand and met the water, heading straight back to her. The smell of cooking flesh rose into the air as she was electrocuted on the spot.

"Next," he said without missing a beat.

"I'll rip out your heart you brat!" Of the remaining three, two charged at him with their blades drawn. "Hmph." Leaping backwards, he threw his sword up into the air. Pressing his hands to the ground and going into a handstand, he lashed both legs onto someone's neck and hoisted himself up. The cracking of bones could be heard as he broke the neck with his legs.

"You'll pay for that!"

Orochimaru didn't even look as he caught his falling sword and thrust it backwards, piercing it into the other's mouth. Blood gushed out in rivers and he yanked his sword out, letting the body drop.

Now... only one remained. Walking over to the trembling girl who was trying to be brave by raising up her kunai into a defensive manner, he said lowly, "Will you fight?"

"I will die with honor!" she shouted shrilly.

Taking his sword, he cut down, breaking the mask in half and revealing a youthful and pretty face with captivating blue eyes. Eyes that were currently misted with tears... With one swing, he knocked her kunai out of her hand and threw a poisonous senbon needle at her arm, paralyzing her instantly. Bending down to her level, he said emotionlessly, "I don't care if you live or die. But I want to know who sent you."

She looked away immediately and said, "I'm not going to betray my friends."

"Lord Hokage already told me that you people want to steal the appeasement scroll, hoping to tense the relationship between the Leaf and Sand village. Why do you wish for war?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"We want things to be equal. This alliance is nothing more than a stalemate. It's nothing more than a lie and must be shattered," she snapped back at him.

His lips slowly curved into a sinister smile. "You're from the Sand."

Her eyes widened as she realized her words 'We want things to be equal' had given her away. The Leaf was prosperous. Therefore, the only other implication was... "Guh!"

His pale hand grasped at her chin and he jerked her head up. "The group you're with are either rebels or the Sand itself is using some rather shady undercover tactics. If this mission fails, the other villages will mistrust Konohagakure." A green snake slithered out from his sleeve and he squeezed her mouth open.

"What are you doing!" she screamed as the serpent gazed at her and flicked its tongue in and out.

He ignored her and stroked his snake on the head with his free hand. "Do me a favor, pet." The snake bowed its head before launching itself at her open mouth.

"Medical ninjutsu sure is useful. You can even be a flashlight," Jiraiya gaped as Tsunade held up her glowing green palm to light their way through the dark ruins.

"It requires alot of chakra control you know," she said, struggling to maintain a steady state of emitted light. They've been walking for almost two hours through the old and decrepit ruin. From the looks of it, it looked like some kind of ancient tomb. The brown stone walls were cracked with ages and sand lined the floor in certain areas. Carvings and runes could still be seen on sections of crumbling walls. If they actually had time, she would have liked to study them. At the moment though, she was just too worried about Orochimaru.

"He'll be ok." Jiraiya looked down and gave her a reassuring grin when he noticed her concern. "He's the strongest, smartest and fastest Chunin in the village. Sure maybe Sakumo is just as talented, but our Oro probably knows a hundred more techniques than he does."

Tsunade was grateful for his words and she said, "You know, out of the three of us, you probably have the best heart, Jiraiya."

His cheeks turned pink and he said, "I didn't think I'd live to see the day I get to hear such a compliment from you, Tsunade."

"Well don't push it pervy no brain," she laughed. She gasped as she nearly tripped on a rock and in her distraction, she lost focus and everything turned pitch black for a second as the light in her hand flickered. A pair of strong arms caught her around the waist and when she regained her light, her cheeks flushed red as she stared into Jiraiya's face.

"Hey, careful," he said in a teasing voice as he let her go.

Dusting her clothes, she said, "I'm... surprised you didn't do anything pervy."

"Not at a time like this." Jiraiya said solemnly, "My friend is out there fighting. I'm not going to forget that even if I get to be alone with you."

Hearing that, Tsunade couldn't help but smile. "Like I said, you have a golden heart, Jiraiya." She sighed. "Sometimes... I wish Orochimaru could have some of that aspect of yours. It would make his life so much easier for him."

"He cares about us very much," Jiraiya said. "He's usually cold, but he'd drop everything for our sake."

She beamed and agreed with him. "That's true. Once, he gave up on an important mission and asked Sakumo to cover for him so that he could babysit my brother when he heard that I would be late coming back from my mission with you and that uhhhh..."

"Kokoso."

"Yea. That kid." She adjusted her medic bag and her heart grew warm. "Other than me, Nawaki likes to be held by Orochimaru. He's a fussy baby and would always cry at night. Even my parents can't get him to calm down. For Orochimaru to pass on that mission and instead spend the night babysitting my brother, was very sweet of him." Tsunade giggled. "It's funny how he had to tie his hair into a bun to stop my brother from playing with it."

Jiraiya thought back to some of the things Orochimaru did for him and said, "He may seem like a cold hearted rock but he's actually pretty soft on the inside. This one time, I got caught peeking and the manager of the hot spring was chasing me down. Orochimaru actually transformed into a girl and lied for me, saying that it was someone completely different." He cackled and added, "He looks like a girl already but that was still a very nice transformation."

Tsunade stared at him with disapproval. "Why do I have this gut feeling you'd actually grope Orochi if he stayed in that female form?"

"Ewww no!" Jiraiya gagged. "One, he's a boy. I don't dig girly looking boys. Second, he's flat in the front and in the back."

"I'm back."

They both turn to see Orochimaru return, his pale face weary from what Tsunade's green light revealed. Jiraiya let out a low whistle. "Against so many and not a single scratch?"

"That's unexpected?" asked Orochimaru, cocking his head.

"Not really I guess," laughed Jiraiya. "Come on, hurry and show us the way out of here. It's like a maze!"

"Hey... Orochi," Tsunade said, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. "Do you smell that?"

He blinked and asked slowly, "Smell what?"

"That," she insisted. She took in a big whiff of air. "There's a really weird smell in the air. Surely, you must be able to smell it, right?"

He took in a deep breath and said, "I think you're right. Something does smell strange."

"Heh." Tsunade's eyes grew hard. "Who the hell are you?" Rocks cracked and dust fell on their heads as she landed a devastating drop kick where he was.

"What are you doing Tsunade?!" yelled Jiraiya.

She pushed him back and held out an arm to block him. "Don't get near him. He's a fake. The real Orochimaru would have used his tongue to smell once I kept insisting that something weird was in the air."

"Damn you..." The imposter shed the disguise and whipped out a seal. A puppet with twin grinning lion head and a bulky body appeared. From its limbs, chakra strings were linked to his fingers.

Tsunade made a disgusted sound and growled, "Only ninjas of the Sand know how to use puppets."

"Why would a Sand ninja fight us? We're bringing them-"

Tsunade cut in, "Probably a missing-nin or something. Come on!" Raising her foot back, she kicked at a watermelon sized rock and sent it flying at him.

At the same time, Jiraiya shouted, "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!" The ground liquified into a dark swamp and the boulder forced the man and his puppet deep down into its depth.

"Let's run now!" Tsunade shouted, grabbing onto Jiraiya's hand and running for it. "We shouldn't fight in here. The place is dark and it might collapse."

"But it looks like we took that guy down," Jiraiya protested. "It should be-"

Tsunade screamed as the man they thought they had taken down appeared in a puff of smoke and slashed at Jiraiya's abdomen, ripping it open with a chainsaw-like blade from its puppet. On closer inspection, she could see it dripping with poison and she snarled, "Eat this!" She punched forward with all her might and shattered it to pieces.

"Not so fast!" The man moved his fingers, making the remaining lion shaped head fly towards her, a blade extended out from its mouth to pierce her heart.

Blood splashed down onto the ground from a streak of bright blue. The man standing before them split clean in half, spilling blood, guts and organs down onto the ground. At the dead remains, Orochimaru's face was completely expressionless. But if one was to see his eyes, they could tell the rage boiling from within its dark depths. "If only I could kill him in a more painful way," Orochimaru said coldly, crushing the skull under his foot. Turning to his two friends, he made his way over to Jiraiya and dropped down to his knees, his sword falling beside him. The wound was open and gaping, blood was seeping out at an alarming rate and Jiraiya was struggling to breathe. "It's a poison that attacks the respiratory system. Tsunade, hurry," he ordered, helping her open her medic kit and starting to bandage Jiraiya.

"I have something that can fix his breathing," she said, pouring chemicals into a test tube and warming it up with her chakra. "But he's lost too much blood. He's going into shock."

"Don't you have blood replenishing pills?" he asked.

"N-no. I forgot-"

"How could you forget?" he snapped at her. "I thought I told you how important this mission was. You should have taken it seriously and prepared."

Her cheeks burned at his scolding remarks. She had taken it seriously... She had packed her bag close to bursting and had fit in every antidote she knew, plenty of bandages and antiseptics. He shouldn't fault her for forgetting just one thing. "I thought you had some," she said, trying to keep her voice even.

Orochimaru said angrily, "A shinobi must prepare before it's too late. It's the most fundamental basic, Tsunade. I am not the medic. You can't rely on me and shirk your own responsibilities." He opened her bag alittle wider and began digging around in it. "He's lost too much blood. You need to do a blood transfusion. Hurry and transfer my blood into him."

"But if your blood type doesn't match, his body will reject it and he'll die," Tsunade spoke up.

He grew even more displeased with her. "As the medical ninja of the team, you should have known that all three of us share the same blood type. We're all B type."

Her face grew even hotter and she fumbled with the tubes as he handed it out to her. As she worked, she struggled to keep her eyes from getting wet and when the blood transfusion was all set up, she focused on healing Jiraiya's stomach wound. They sat there in the darkness like that, the only source of light was her healing palms and his glowing sword.

After awhile, he spoke up. "Why are you crying?"

She blinked and realized that tears were trailing down her cheeks. "I'm not crying," she said thickly, rubbing her face into her shoulder to wipe it.

"Lying about it only makes it more pathetic. A shinobi must never show their tears," Orochimaru said coldly.

"Will you just shut the fuck up and let me concentrate?" Tsunade said angrily, feeling her heart get even more crushed. In response, he made a disappointed sound in the back of his throat but remained silent for the rest of the process.

When Jiraiya had enough blood, she cleanly disconnected them, washed her instruments with a water technique and placed them back in her bag.

"Is he alright?" asked Orochimaru, looking extremely pale from donating a large volume of blood. Tsunade nodded silently and he sighed in relief. "Good. Let's... get going."

"You're too weak to carry Jiraiya and we need to set up a two-man cell formation for defense. More might come to attack," said Tsunade. Biting her thumb, she swiped it across her palm and summoned Katsuyu.

"Lady Tsunade," the slug greeted, its tentacles wiggling in delight to be summoned. "How may I be of use?"

"Help me carry Jiraiya on your back," she instructed.

"Right away my lady," Katsuyu said obediently, holding still and letting him be placed onto her back.

Raising up his glowing sword to use as a flashlight, Orochimaru made another non-committal sound and began leading the way through the dusty tomb. They walked for the next few hours in complete and very uncomfortable silence. Quite frankly, he just didn't have the energy to be patient with her temper tantrum and he ignored her as she walked behind him with her lips pressed tightly together.

From what he could see, the tomb was very large and there were many many hallways and rooms, some of them still containing sarcophaguses. Rats and small scorpions scampered near the edges of the cracking walls and old dust was thick in the air. Occasional skeletons of grave robbers surfaced as they walked, their bags heavy with rusted metal and coins that twinkled under the soft light of his sword. His sharp eyes took in the damage to their bones and the position of their death, realizing that they died from traps and not from simply being lost. The section they're in might be safe for the moment. But the further they went, the more dangerous it might get. At the same time... something felt very wrong about the place. He could only describe it as sinister.

"I'm tired."

He looked behind him to see that Tsunade was indeed fatigued. Her eyes were glazed and her posture slumped over. "We'll stop here then," he said tonelessly. He sat down across from her and her slug in the corridor, placing his sword neatly beside him. "Since you're tired, you sleep. I'll keep watch."

"You must think I'm a weak kunoichi," she said with an edge to her voice.

Orochimaru answered without batting an eye, "I think base on what I see,"

"So what does that mean?" she asked, feeling her blood boil.

"You're smart. You know what I mean."

"Why must you be so horrible sometimes!" Tsunade hit the ground with her fist, making the place shudder. "Why... why can't you be like Jiraiya!"

Except for a flicker of irritation revealed by the light of his glowing blue sword, he showed no other noteworthy reaction to her outburst. "If you don't want to sleep then I will." With that, he closed his eyes and blocked her out.

She cursed under her breath and scooted closer to her slug for comfort. Katsuya seemed to understand her resentment and unhappiness and it hovered around her protectively. For the next hour, she sat there and hugged her knees, occasionally checking up on Jiraiya. It was only when her summon spoke up, did she stop being quiet.

"Mistress, please stop being so sad."

Tsunade grouched, "I'm not sad."

Katsuyu's eye stalks wiggled and it gently nudged her. "You're hurt."

Biting her lips, Tsunade pressed her face into her knees and shook her head. The truth was however, she was incredibly hurt. It was if she wasn't good enough to be on this mission with him in the first place. She hated how he was treating her but most of all, she hated herself. His expectations weren't completely out of hand. He could certainly be more understanding but she knew that in a way, he was right in criticizing her. But then again, no one, not even her very own grandmother had scolded her so harshly as he did to her. Who the hell did he think he was anyways! She was Tsunade Senju! She wasn't someone to be bossed around. Even if she was crushing on him, she wasn't going to let him walk all over her. Straightening up, she said loudly, "I feel great, Katsuyu. The best ever actually!"

Orochimaru stirred slightly before settling back to sleep.

"Hmphhhhhhhhhh!" She stuck her tongue out at him and nestled against her slug, knowing that she was acting like a spoiled brat but she didn't really care at the moment.

Behind his long dark bangs, he opened one golden eye and looked her way briefly before closing it again, not at all impressed with her. But when he heard Jiraiya stir, he got up and quickly went over to his side.

"It hurts everywhere," Jiraiya groaned, his face sweaty as he struggled to open his eyes.

"Hold still." Tsunade put her glowing green hands back over him and tried her best to ease his pain.

Orochimaru looked him over carefully and asked, "Do you think you'll be able to walk? Katsuyu isn't the fastest summon out there and we need to make haste. It's dangerous here."

"Orochimaru!" Angrily, she said, "Jiraiya is in no condition to walk."

"I am not asking for your opinion, hime," he replied scathingly.

"I'm the medic so you should be," she shot back.

Jiraiya temporarily forgot about his pain and gulped as the two glared daggers at each other. What the hell happened while he was knocked out? Orochimaru was cold but rarely did he show that edge to Tsunade. The Senju princess was quick to anger but she always had a particular tolerance to him and Orochimaru since she obviously cared about them. Whatever happened between them must have been really bad. Uncomfortably, he said, "I can stop riding on Katsuyu, but walking might take even longer."

"I'll carry you."

Jiraiya's eyes bulged out at the thought of Orochimaru giving him a piggy back. "Uhhhh..." He patted his stomach and said, "I think it'll hurt even more if you carry me on my back."

"I'll carry you in my arms then."

If he had been drinking something, he would have spat it across the room at what Orochimaru said. To him, the very idea of Orochimaru carrying him bridal style was cringe worthy at best and mortifying at worst. If there was any carrying involved, he wanted himself to be the carrier and a girl to be the one in his arms. He looked Orochimaru up and down and made a face. It would be like being carried by a girl. And not even a real girl but just a girly looking boy.

Orochimaru blinked his large emotionless golden eyes and said, "Stop staring at me like a dumb frog with its mouth open."

"Can Tsunade carry me instead?" Jiraiya asked weakly. He asked just for the sake of asking. He didn't think she would agree but to his enormous surprise, she nodded.

"Sure, I'll carry you. You won't have to feel like a burden or weakling when you're with me instead of him," she said, punctuating the words 'burden' and 'weakling' with a venomous undertone.

"Hmph." He turned on his heel and left.

As Katsuyu was sent back and Tsunade carried him in her arms, he asked casually, "So... he called you a weakling?" His blood turned cold as she flashed him the scariest death glare he's ever seen. Even when he joked that he'd peep in on her one day, she didn't look half as scary as now. "I-I think you're beautiful and strong! Th-the strongest kunoichi in the village." He gulped. "Please don't drop me." She turned her head up at him and made the most imperious princess sounding 'HMPH' he's ever heard in his life before speeding up to catch up to Orochimaru.

As they walked towards that abyss of darkness at the end of the hallway, Orochimaru's grip unconsciously tightened around the handle of his sword and he edged closer to Tsunade protectively.

As my steps echoes down this corridor

The darkness echoes back even louder

Darkwings13:

- All three of the Sannin share the same blood type which is B. I have no idea what my own blood type is D:

- As I have officially graduated from university (omg 5yrs gahhhh!), I will have a new update schedule next week. Stay tuned (≧▽≦)

Felikowy, hello! :) Actually, the thing regarding what you said about Tsunade choosing Jiraiya and not Oro... I'll try not to spoil too much for my fic but here's my reply regarding that. After all these years of rejection, it's right after Orochimaru died, that she decided to give him a chance. There is a saying 'You only realize what you have once it's gone.' Those three were the Legendary Sannin. They survived countless missions, Hanzo and the Second Shinobi War itself. They survived up till now when even great ninjas like Sakumo Hatake died. They were the best, the geniuses, the great and the survivors. But then Orochimaru dies and that illusion of infallibility cracks. Tsunade herself said in that episode she couldn't believe that of all people, he would die and she reflects back on the good times. Jiraiya says that at least now... he can write out the sequel. In their own ways, the two have always missed and waited for Orochimaru to come back. Jiraiya refused to continue writing whatever sequel he had planned without his best friend and was always out there looking for him. Tsunade in the back of her head always thought Orochimaru would continue existing. He may be far, but he'll always be there. But now Orochimaru, the best of the three (when they're kids, he was the genius and the two probably keep thinking that till this day), could die, then they can too. Tsunade only has Orochimaru and Jiraiya left from her time and now that one is gone, she clings on more tightly to Jiraiya and is afraid of losing him since he's going after Pain. Funny enough, one of Oro's quote is 'It's human nature not to realize the true value of something unless they lose it'. It matches what she felt about Jiraiya going after Pain and when he dies.

Lastly, despite everything Orochimaru has done the two never truly lost all hope as she is saddened by his death and he is in her infinite tsukiyomi. To still want someone like that in your ideal world, even after all the terrible and monstrous thing they've done, shows that she might have cared for him much more than she lets on, especially since Dan, Nawaki and Jiraiya are pure/ faultless while Orochimaru is tainted black in comparison. X'D I really want to write more but I don't wanna spoil. I have done almost complete analysis and jotted down notes so if you wish to continue this discussion, feel free to pm me my friend. In the meanwhile, I hope this is a sufficient reply. I agree wholeheartedly with your statement that Orochimaru's bond with Tsunade takes a downward spiral right at the start of the 2nd Shinobi War my friend. (σ´-ω-`)σ I'm glad you like my writing! I hope to keep improving for you all.

(σﾟ∀ﾟ)σ Last chapter was your favorite so far hxshigaki76? I'm so glad you had fun reading it friend. I had fun writing it haha. Jiraiya certainly is loveable and I enjoy writing out his character. He actually kinda reminds me of myself sometimes in the silliness department.

(´∀｀•) Hello Lord Creator! Ah yes, I was actually really inspired by Sakura wanting to go kill Sasuke in Naruto Shippuden. She loved him and all but was starting to feel really sick from what he's becoming and wanted to do what was best. Sort of like, 'I'd rather kill you than see you become a true monster'. It's connected to Tsunade pummeling the living daylights of Orochimaru. Will elaborate in the future of course. Thank you so much for the cheerios and lovely time of your day as always friend.

(*≧∀≦*) Greetings JigokuShoujosRevenge! haha it's just so Orochimaru to think that all babies look ugly. (ㄒoㄒ) Poor Nawaki and the war in the future... he dies right after his birthday too! It's just not fair

(〃￣ω￣〃) huehuehue I too love Orochimaru's blunt, cutting but very insightful words, BlackLady777. His is a very tough love kinda approach. He doesn't coddle and believes it's what best for both her and Jiraiya to get stronger. Oh and yes, poor Oro trying to force himself to be funny. I do think he's hilarious in Naruto SD though! And yep, those poor fortunes. Even though love in their future is painful, it was real and precious. Except for Dan. I'm still mad at what he said while dying. Sounded so self-centered. Jiraiya would have said something like 'I'm glad I got to see that huge rack of yours before I go. I love you. Live long and happy for me.' Something mushy and sweet. If Oro was dying, he knows her best and wouldn't say what Dan said, knowing she'd hate herself for failing and suffer from what she does best. v(^∀^*) I'm so happy to hear you like the horse riding scene! I wasn't sure if I wrote it well enough. Thank you for the reassurance Blacklady. xD and ofc, Jiraiya's ninja elephant. Poor guy.

(✿◠‿◠) Last but not least, hi ileangie23! Orochimaru's hair is so pretty, I had fun imagining baby Nawaki playing with it. He's gloomy but he's definitely super mature. It's a good thing he got put on a team with such a funny prankster like Jiraiya to counterbalance him and help him enjoy the lighter moments of life. Oh yay, you also like the horse riding scene! Haha, he sorta does become a bit of a hermit by building hideouts in the middle of nowhere to focus on research. Oh and can you play the flute my friend? I've always been a fan of wind and string instruments. Yea, it's so lovely Jiraiya doesn't change till his dying breath. Even Orochimaru really appreciated that about his friend when he talked to Tsunade. Nya nya, thank you more for your time in always reviewing and letting me know your thoughts. I love hearing from my readers and replying back.