Konoha…

Sarutobi rubbed at his eyes tiredly as he leaned back in his purple sofa-like chair. He sighed at the sight of the amount of papers on his desk, waiting to be read and signed. For comfort, he glanced over at the picture frame he had on his desk, of him and his students. It was their team photo to commemorate the beginning of Team Hiruzen and he found himself smiling as he focused on Orochimaru. Oh he was so cute when he was little, Sarutobi thought fondly.

He remembered the one time when they were out on a mission and the Jonin who was accompanying them had a habit of affectionately pinching kid's cheeks. None of his kids liked it but weirdly, Orochimaru's sense of humor had kicked in to display their discomfort. Every time the lady pinched his cheek, he would stick out his tongue. The more she pinched, the longer his tongue would get. Long story short, he had never laughed so hard in his life (Jiraiya even fell out of the tree while laughing) and the lady probably never pinched kids' cheeks again. Closing his eyes for a moment, he allowed himself to drift off, his mind still on his pride and joy.

"Sarutobi-sensei?"

Orochimaru turned his large golden inquisitive eyes upon him and Sarutobi smiled as his student walked over to him, past the silent graves of the cemetery. "I had a feeling you'd come to tell your parents the good news that you've become Chunin as soon as you can. I know you also have a habit of waking up very early." He gestured to the sky that was a mix of dark blue, purple, pink, orange, and gentle red that came along with the morning sun. "Since I was out on my early morning walk, I wanted to find you and ask if you'd like to have breakfast with me. Would you like that, Orochimaru?"

"Yes but… how long did you have to wait for me Sarutobi-sensei?" he asked, comforted to have a breakfast where he didn't have to eat alone.

Sarutobi chuckled. "I'd wait for as long as it takes for us to have breakfast together." He nudged him on the back. "But don't keep your parents waiting now, Orochimaru. I'm sure they'd like to hear the good news from you."

"Thank you, sensei." His young student gently placed down his bouquet of soft violets and fresh sunflowers, obviously lovingly arranged, before beginning to pray. After awhile, he turned around and looked up.

Sarutobi noticed that he seemed to be struggling with words and he bent down with a kind smile. "What is it?"

"We're now Chunin," Orochimaru said quietly.

"Yes, yes you are," Sarutobi said, continuing to smile, hoping to convey to his favorite how proud he was of that fact. They had all worked so hard for the title and the battle between Orochimaru and Sakumo Hatake was still being discussed with great admiration and excitement.

Orochimaru looked down at the ground and said solemnly, "Chunins have the highest fatality rates."

Sarutobi froze. What Orochimaru had said was indeed true. Genins may be the weakest and most inexperienced, but that was kept in mind as they were given the safest missions. Chunins must prove themselves by taking on missions that they may not be capable of, if they wished to climb the career ladder. Otherwise, that was where they would stay for the rest of their lives. Jonins were older, more experienced and stronger, meaning their capabilities and ability to survive was what made them Jonin in the first place. Last but not least, Anbus were the elites but because of their importance, they were the shadows and the hands of the Hokage. Very few could kill them. Gently, he took his pupil's small hands in his. "Are you afraid, Orochimaru?"

"More for Tsunade and Jiraiya, to be honest." He let out a long breath, one too weary for a child his age. "When people are afraid, they are more careful. But no matter how careful we are, we can never avoid death. I can try as hard as I can, but the knowledge that I will lose my friends and... you, hurts. Every time I visit my parents, I'm reminded of that fact, sensei."

Sarutobi gave him a sad smile. "It's an inevitable cycle, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru squeezed his eyes shut. "What is the point of life when everything just repeats itself? It's a joke of a cycle."

"You're afraid," Sarutobi said as he patted his favorite student on the cheek. "Is becoming Chunin something you regret?"

"No." He said thinly, "After going through the Chunin exam and staring into death's face, I'm just reminded how fragile this existence is." He squeezed his teacher's hands. "Becoming Chunin is just a step further in my goal. Why would I regret it?"

"What is your goal, exactly?" asked Sarutobi. When his young student seemed despondent, Sarutobi said gently, "I know I put a lot of pressure on you in wanting you to be my successor. If that is not what you really want, then tell me. I only want what is best for you and for you to be happy, Orochimaru. No matter what you want, I will support you."

"I do want to be Hokage but my reasons are probably not what you would want to hear, sensei."

Sarutobi chuckled. "And what would I want to hear, Orochimaru?"

"To hear me say that I want to become Hokage to follow the Will of Fire and protect the village," Orochimaru said blankly. "To me, that is pointless. No matter how good I can guard the village, everyone will die eventually. And when I die, if I happen to pick a useless and weak Hokage who ends up dooming the village, my whole life and yours would have been meaningless, sensei. I'd much rather use the power and authority to..." At this part, his student's cheeks turned a delicate light pink, making Sarutobi lose his train of thought and inwardly man squeal at the adorableness. "We-we are making great progress in medicine and technology to live longer. I want to invest in that and have our village triumph over the other villages in that field. Make our people stronger and never die." At this point, Orochimaru's cheeks turned flaming red. "I want you to be with me forever, sensei. After what you said to me back at the hospital, it's like I have a father again. I don't want to lose you."

Sarutobi felt his heart clenched up in his chest. It was like hearing your child call you father for the very first time. Nothing mattered but this precious moment, when you know that your child is looking up to you and loves you, and you would go to the very ends of the world for them. As he looked down at the small eight-year-old boy whose hands he was holding, he was slightly startled by a clear revelation. If he ever lost Orochimaru... he might just kill himself. Sitting there, surrounded by many graves and tombstones, he suddenly feared death more than he's ever feared it before. Even when he volunteered to be the decoy before Lord Tobirama insisted on sacrificing himself instead, he was composed with the thought of accepting death. But now, holding onto the most precious thing to him that he's just grasped after decades of his life, he was immensely fearful of its loss, making him understand even more why Orochimaru's goal was to strive for immortality. If there was such a way, he knew that he would have gone to the ends of the earth to obtain it for the one he loved like a son.

"Sensei." Sarutobi swallowed hard and continued listening as Orochimaru said with deeply rooted resolve, "I'll find a way to defeat death. I don't believe in a future that will end with the bodies of those we love rotting in some grave."

"Orochimaru..." He said quietly, "I'm touched by your affections but it's impossible to live forever. I don't want you to chase after something that will most likely end in disappointment for my sake."

Orochimaru suddenly hissed. "I won't allow it. You can't die Sarutobi-sensei. Not you, or my princess and my idiot. I will overcome and defeat humanity's oldest enemy." His golden eyes shined like the brightest of stars under the light of radiant dawn, as if he was announcing his vow to the heavens itself. "If I succeed, we won't have to wait for an inevitable future of pain and loss, Sarutobi-sensei."

"Orochimaru," Sarutobi said strickenly, pulling Orochimaru into his chest and holding him protectively.

He pressed his face into his teacher's broad shoulder and felt his teacher's hand trembling on his back. Pointing to his parents' graves, he grieved. "All those deaths and losses and my own pain shouldn't be in vain. I refuse to accept this cruel cycle of losing those you love."

"You are making your life difficult in pursuing this idea," Sarutobi said, feeling his emotions threatening to overwhelm him. "Most of all, this is a lonely road you'll be taking."

He slowly touched his hair. "My mother... she loved my hair, Sarutobi-sensei. So to me, my long hair is beautiful and precious. When the other kids laughed and called it girly, I never cared. I will live my life and be strong for what I believe in. Therefore, even if other people think my dream of obtaining immortality and defying sorrow is blasphemous or ridiculous, I will still pursue it. Someday... I will conquer it."

Sarutobi felt his heart break and he hugged Orochimaru even tighter. He had never heard something so beautiful, raw and human in his life and he could feel tears trailing down the side of his own cheeks as he wound his fingers into the long obsidian hair that held so much meaning to Orochimaru. His entire world had been turned upside down by this child. He had never once questioned death before but after witnessing the desperation and iron will Orochimaru was displaying, he felt like believing in his dream. A world where no one would lose those they loved... a world where Orochimaru, his favorite student, the son of his heart, would never have to die. Oh how he suddenly wished for such a world.

"Orochimaru," Sarutobi said, pulling him up, his eyes wet with tears. He knew that the decision was final and that Orochimaru was doing this no matter what. Holding tightly onto the porcelain hand as if he'd never let go, he said, "You are like a son to me. Don't die."

Orochimaru smiled at those words, knowing that his teacher had just approved of his dream of immortality. To him, that was the greatest of support he could have, just like how his mother's love for his hair was all that he needed to forever keep it long for her sake. "Let's go have breakfast. Then tomorrow, after I'm done chaperoning Tsunade's date with Jiraiya, we can have our dinner to celebrate me becoming Chunin, Sarutobi-sensei."

He jolted awake, his heart racing from the memory as he woke up from falling asleep at his desk. It was late evening and the sun was already setting. Clasping his hands together, he looked over at the white snake statue that Orochimaru had given him as a paperweight, for comfort. To his dismay, he saw a crack running through it, a clear sign of ill omen. Clutching at his heart, he stared at the statue for a long time before opening his desk and taking out a blank scroll, ordering the immediate return of Team Hiruzen. This feeling in his heart was a feeling only a parent could feel for their child. No matter how stupid or irrational his decision was in abruptly pulling his students out of Uzushiogakure, he didn't care, especially if he had an intuition that Orochimaru was in danger.

"Damn it! Stop bleeding! I said stop!" Tsunade screamed hysterically as she tried to seal Orochimaru's wound. A pool of blood was beginning to form around them and she felt the liquid coating her legs. Pressing her hands into his chest, the green aura grew even brighter as she put everything she had into healing him. "Why the hell did you do this?! I can't reseal the wound you fucking bastard!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

Jiraiya stood in front with his toad sages on his shoulders, holding up a barrier technique to protect the three of them while the evil spirit bashed against the shield, trying to possess them. He had deduced that she couldn't leave this room without a physical body, and that her main talent was to use body parts or even an entire body as a host. However, that seemed to rot the host's body, judging from Tsunade's attack, and the fact that she had to dig out a small chunk of Orochimaru's internal flesh that had rotted from the few seconds that he had been possessed. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck as he maintained the glowing blue barrier and he panted, "Tsunade, calm down! If you lose your head, Orochimaru is going to die!"

"He can't die. He can't die," she cried, shaking his head as he stared up at her with lifeless yellow eyes. "You are not going to die! You hear me?! You stupid snake, why would you ask me to bet that you will die! You're my lucky charm! All of my bets actually win when you're with me!"

His lips twitched slightly, almost like he was laughing at her. A trickle of blood spilled down from the corner of his lips as he said quietly, "Stop, Tsunade-hime. This is out of your hands."

Tsunade wept as she continued trying to fight against an overwhelming wave of helplessness at the situation. "You promised me you wouldn't leave me! You said you know how bad it feels to be left behind!" She looked down as he moved one of his hand over onto hers, slightly dimming the green light that she was emitting from healing him.

"Remember the night our village won the first war, and you found out that Lord First and Second had died?" he asked, his face deathly pale. "Remeber what you promised me?"

Her eyes widened.

"Princess, Orochimaru is here to see you."

After her mom made the announcement, the door opened to reveal Orochimaru with his usual empty expression and a tray of food. Steaming shrimp tempura that was cooked to a perfect crispy golden brown, served as an appetizer besides the big bowl of Shio ramen. The broth was clear and fragrant with a delicate scent, cradling the thick noodles and slices of pork and chicken. As he came closer to her bed, letting the soft light from her bedside lamp reveal more of his face, she muttered, "And why do you look tired, Orochi?"

"If I look tired, then you look half dead," he said, blunt as usual. He held out the tray as he stood in her dimly lit room. "According to your mother, you haven't eaten anything yesterday or today. School is only going to be closed for celebration over the end of the war for another week. When we come back, you and I will be graduating."

Tsunade glared at him as she hugged her giant slug stuffie to her chest. "I know you're socially awkward but do you really think I care about graduation right now?"

He looked at her for a moment before gently setting the tray down on her bedside table. Carefully sidestepping her mountain of stuffed animals she's collected over the years, he pulled back the long golden curtains for a moment as he nudged the window open to let in abit of the night air. Quietly, he then made his way back over to her snow white bed with its soft gold blankets and seated himself down on it, his head brushing against the translucent canopy of the bed. After about five minutes of complete silence, she said, "What?"

"You're the one hurting. You should speak first," he replied calmly.

"I just want to be alone right now." She wiped at her eyes and stayed silent. After a considerable pause, he took her hand in his and slowly brought it close to his lips. "What are you doing now OWW!" She pulled back cradled her hand to her chest. A clear bite mark was visible and his teeth had even punctured skin. "Are you crazy!"

Orochimaru's strange reptilian eyes gazed carefully at the wound. "It looks like it hurts."

"Of course it hurts! I'm even bleeding!" She pouted at him, her nose flaring. "This has got to be the dumbest way a friend can comfort another."

He turned around in his seat, crossing his legs together. "To me, it looks like it hurts but I can't actually feel the pain. Only you truly understand because you're the one bleeding." Orochimaru then brought his own hand up to his lips and bit down.

"Hey!" She quickly shifted under the covers and sidled over to his side, pulling away his hand. "You're bleeding too now!"

He licked away the drop of blood trailing down towards his chin and said emotionlessly, "Now that I experience the same thing, I understand the pain." Tilting his head and pulling his hand back, he said, "I know what you're going through, Tsunade. I've gone through the same thing. I envy you, however. I had no one to comfort me when my parents died from the war. You still have your parents and your grandmother. Not only that, the entire village hails your grandfather and granduncle as heroes. If anyone sees you crying out there in the streets, they would have jumped to help you. No one cared about me."

Tsunade felt her eyes growing even wetter from what he was telling her. She hiccoughed, "I-I kn-know you had it much rougher tha-than I ever did. You're s-so strong. But I-I'm not strong. I just wanna crawl under the bed and h-hide forever." When he passed her a tissue, she noisily blew her nose into it and continued crying.

"This isn't about being strong," he said sternly. "It's about giving value to their deaths and giving value to the people who are worried about you." He pointed at the door. "Your parents are exhausted from the war, but they put effort into making you food. When you refused to eat and threw a tantrum by refusing to come out of your room, your grandmother, who's also grieving for her husband, had to write me a letter and ask me to come to persuade you."

Tsunade hiccoughed and buried her face into her slug stuffie. "I know I'm being a big crybaby. I didn't mean to act like this but..." She cried into her stuffed animal. "It hurts knowing that my grandpa will never play or go gamble with me again. I'll never get yelled at by my granduncle to be more lady-like and then have him sneak my candies after as an apology. I-I'll never..." She raised her tear stained face. "I want to see them, just one last time. They were my family, Orochimaru."

He looked down at his bleeding hand, wondering why he had come. Seeing her like this was reopening his own old wound, when he too, mourned for his own loss. He resisted the urge to pull away when she laid her bloody hand on his own. "Why do people have to kill each other, Orochimaru?" she asked, her voice cracking. "My grandfather tried so hard... he tried so hard for peace. He always taught me to be kind towards others and do what's right."

Orochimaru closed his eyes. "Tsunade-hime, it's a war. If you don't fight and kill, you die. It's as simple as that."

"Why did the war start?" She tightened her grip around his hand, biting at her lips. "Why couldn't we just live in peace?" She jumped slightly when he absentmindedly patted her head.

"War brings profit, at the cost of deaths. Every war that's started stemmed from the lust for wealth, power and territory."

Tsunade sniffed. "Human life can't be measured in that! That's sick!" She winced when his hand curled and accidentally yanked out her some of her honey blonde hair. "Ouch!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized hastily, drawing away.

But she had seen the deathly look of fury on his face before he could hide it and she said timidly, "Orochi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he answered tersely. "But you're right. You're absolutely right. All the money and land in this world cannot bring back the dead." When she began crying again, he said, "There's only one thing we can do for those who have died and loved us. Live and make use of the time they've given us. Give value to their deaths. No matter how much easier it is to just sit here and wallow in your despair, don't disappoint those who loves you."

She hiccoughed and nodded. "I-I will. I'll grow up to be the best kunoichi ever. Someone my grandfather and granduncle can be proud of." When Orochimaru watched her with his wise golden eyes, she added, "And I will not forget the people who are still with me and love me. For my mom and dad, grandmother and you, I will do whatever it takes to protect you all and make sure you're happy." She jumped up on her bed. "I'm going to go out right now and hug my mom so that she won't have to be sad or worried about me." With that, she jumped off the bed, running off with her ponytail bobbing.

When she was gone, he looked down at his hand that had stopped bleeding, his expression unreadable as he sat there in silence for the next five minutes.

"Orochi I'm back!" Tsunade ran back in, closed the door with a slam (her typical tomboyish manner) and jumped back onto the bed. "Thank you for helping me see things more clearly," she said, looking ten times happier.

"Don't thank me," he replied quietly, letting his hair hide his face. "Truth to be honest, I have something to say to you, Tsunade Senju."

At his serious tone of voice, a wave of apprehension overwhelmed her. "I-I'm sorry if I made you mad from the way I ac-acted earlier. I know better now. I'll never waste food like that again and make you and my family worry like that. I-I won't be ungrateful-"

"It's not that," he interrupted. He put a hand over his heart. "You know... I was happy when we did become friends Tsunade, even though I was still terrified of the idea. It's because loss is painful, and you know that now since you've lost Lord First and Lord Second."

"I know-"

He cut in sharply. "I felt forced. Friends are supposed to be nice to each other. That's the etiquette expected. I felt like I had to make this work since I already stepped into this relationship. Because you're the princess of the village, I felt even more pressured." Orochimaru put his hands over his face. "I don't know if I actually even care about you this entire year. All of a sudden, I had someone asking after me, hanging out with me and sharing lunch with me after I just promised myself I'd never care about anyone again. I was so confused."

Tsunade hugged her slug and watched him with a sad expression. "Orochi..."

"You are the closest person to me but I didn't even know if I liked you or if I was simply acting. My fear of caring and losing a bond was too overpowering," he said heartbrokenly. "I even resented you and wished you gone. But not anymore. I... I finally know that you really are important to me when I saw you in pain tonight. So you have to choose now."

"Choose what?" Tsunade asked fearfully, her large amber eyes peeking over at from her stuffed animal.

"Promise me that you'll always support me, stay with me and never betray me. In return, I promise you that I will always be genuine to you from now on. I won't just act like a friend, I'll really be a friend this time." When she didn't answer, he added softly, "Will you accept me, knowing how much of a liar I've been to you?" His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when she hugged him. "Tsunade?"

She rubbed his head, combing her fingers through his silky black hair and thought his need for assurance was sad but honest to his fragile heart. "You know, for someone so book smart, I always thought you were socially stupid. You might not be able to tell, but I know that despite your fears, your feelings were genuine throughout this whole year. Maybe 10% acting but 90% is real. It reached out to me especially tonight, in my darkest and most depressing moment." Drawing back, she took his hands in hers and bounced on the bed alittle. "You wanting this friendship to be true, is already proof enough. You're being honest with me, which shows that you want to go into this relationship with everything you've got. That is simply amazing, Orochimaru. I know it must be hard for you."

He found himself slowly smiling, his eyes turning to sweet honey as she gave him the answer he completely did not expect. "We're both foolish."

"Foolish friends," Tsunade said with a giggle. "So yes, I promise. Let's stick together forever, Orochi." Her stomach rumbled to break the tender moment and she pouted. "Sorry."

"Eat before the food gets any colder, hime." He reached over to her bedside table and handed the tray over.

"Yummy!" Grabbing the shrimp tempura with little pudgy hands, she gobbled them all up relatively fast. Beside her, Orochimaru took out a bag with a hard boiled egg from his long sleeve and began nibbling on it. Noticing and knowing that was probably all he could afford for dinner, made her heart hurt. She tugged on his white sleeve. "Let's share dinner, Orochi."

He slowly swallowed. "I only have an egg."

"We can still share." Taking the egg out of his hand, she took a small bite and passed him her ramen bowl. "You need to eat and grow big and strong. I feel fat when standing beside you sometimes." When he laughed, she leaned against him and took another bite out of the egg, wondering what kind of future would he come to shape when he grew up. If there was anyone she truly believed that could change the world, it was him. "Hey Orochi..."

He glanced over at her from the corner of his eyes as he gracefully slurped at the noodles. "Hmm?"

"I believe in you."

"Hmmm?"

"I said I believe in you," she repeated. "Therefore, even if I may have doubts about your motives or goals in the future, what matters is that my faith in you triumphs over my doubts. You didn't even need to ask me to make that promise in the first place." She then laughed and shook him, making him catch her bowl of ramen in fright when it flew off the tray. "By the way, it felt like you were asking me to marry you or something. With that commitment promise and everything! Teehee! That's so cute!"

He sighed and muttered, "If we get married, I'd be the housewife... oh god."

He smiled as he read the expression on her face. "You promised me. So let go." Slowly, Tsunade stopped her healing and let the green light die, her lips quivering as she watched his eyes beginning to grow dim. He took her hand and placed it on the handle of his sword. "You must fight for me if you believe in me. Understood? Nothing disappoints me more than meaningless deaths."

"I don't understand this at all," she sobbed, hanging her head and trembling all over.

"What are you doing Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted when he saw her stopped. "He's still breathing! You're not going to give up on him now are you?!"

Her shoulders shook and she bowed over with anguish. Putting her hands over her mouth, she screamed into it.

Orochimaru slowly closed his eyes and said quietly, "I am the eighth seal. You can use my sword to cut the soul itself."

Tsunade cried even harder into her hands, finally understanding why he had done this. It wasn't just to get that demonic monster out by threatening to kill her with a dead body, but it was to give his sword the ability to cut spiritual beings. Back when he had fought Sakumo Hatake, he had released all seven nature seals and shouted out that his Kusanagi sword can cut anything. But he himself had mentioned to her out of earshot, that he was the eighth seal. By killing himself, he had given his sword the ability to cut what physical weapons couldn't manage. "You liar!" she cried. "You said you'd never die for me! You said you'd never let me go through this pain again! I hate you! I hate you!"

He smiled and opened his mouth. Shakily, he reached into it and pulled out her necklace. "This... belongs to you. Wear it. I am certain... this jewel is actually the Yasakani Jewel, another holy treasure. It will protect you from danger."

"You fucking wear it or eat it! I don't need it! I only need you!" she shouted at him, pulling him up and into her arms and holding onto him tightly.

Resting against her chest, he put it around her neck himself. "You, Sarutobi-sensei, and Jiraiya are the only things that have kept me sane all these years. Thank you."

Jiraiya gnashed on his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut as tears threatened to leak out. "Stop acting like you're going to die snake-eyes! You're not going to die until we're both old men you hear me! You and... Tsunade still have to make creepy snake babies and let me be a godfather and teach them perverted ways to piss you both off!" He cried as the tears finally leaked out. "STOP CRYING AND HELP HIM TSUNADE!"

Orochimaru looked over with glazed eyes and said, "Jiraiya... the only thing bigger than your idiocy, is your big heart. I want to let you know how grateful I am for that, especially now."

"You can buy me dinner and kiss me to show gratitude after we get out of here!" Jiraiya choked.

Still cracking jokes till the end... That was the idiot he likes. His eyes slowly went blank and he said, "It's human nature that people won't realize the true value of something unless they lose it. Will you forgive me?"

Jiraiya shook as he recalled the memory.

He had definitely won the jackpot this time, Jiraiya drooled as he hid in the bushes, inside the women's side of the hot spring. Successfully, he had managed to creep in and had found a nice and snug spot that allowed for perfect peeking. Snacking on some beef jerky strips he had brought with him, the fifteen-year-old boy wondered what type of beauties he'd be seeing today. He looked down when he noticed a big beetle crawling towards him and he flicked it away with a finger. "Sorry bud, but I can't have ants or beetles crawling up my pants."

A splash of water drew his attention back to the steamy pool and he drooled. The pale beauty currently had her back turned and was standing straight up, slowly trying to adjust to the hot waters. Her hair was long and raven black, reaching down to her back like a gorgeous waterfall and curving just above the sexiest plump ass he's ever seen. Although he liked boobs more, this ass was certainly making him rethink this. He was certainly going to write a very good and inspired chapter for his new project that he planned on calling the Ich Icha series.

"Jiraiya, what the hell are you doing?"

All the blood drained out of his face and balls as he recognized that boring ass sounding voice. The person he thought was a beautiful lady, turned out to be his beautiful but 100% male teammate. Orochimaru had his arms crossed and wore an extremely annoyed expression on his sculpted face. "I've been stuck with you for most of my life, chosen of the frogs. Interrupting my bath time is abit much, isn't it?"

Jiraiya gagged, holding a hand to his mouth. Oh god, he was going to be sick. He had been ogling this guy for nearly five minutes?! "Why the hell are you in the women's baths in the first place?" he seethed.

"The men's baths are under construction you dolt. Didn't you see the sign in front?" Orochimaru asked, talking to the rustling bushes.

"No, I dug my way in here."

Orochimaru stared with an incredulous expression. "If you'd put the same efforts for your training, you might actually beat me one day."

"Never mind that," Jiraiya said, jumping up and down and revealing himself. "But why are you at a hot spring in the first place! Orochimaru doesn't do hot springs!"

His teammate pointed to himself. "Orochimaru somehow won a free ticket to the hot springs. That's why. Since it's quite late and there's no other customers, I was allowed to go in here."

Jiraiya pulled on his cheeks. "This is the worst day ever. Only slightly not as bad as the day we kissed each other."

Orochimaru turned green and put a hand to his mouth, trying not to vomit at the memory. With more effort than Jiraiya's ever seen, Orochimaru swallowed. "Before I kill you, get out so I can finish my bath and go home to sleep."

"Go home and sleep at nine o'clock like a big baby," Jiraiya said in a sing-song voice before he popped back into his bushy area to leave. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, he had to go back. When he popped back up, Orochimaru was looking up at the starry night skies with a serene expression, deep in thought about something. "Pssst, Oro!"

Orochimaru quickly sunk down in the waters and hissed. "What the hell? Get out already, Jiraiya."

"I can't. There's a dog sitting on my hole."

"Move the dog you idiot."

"I can't, it'll bite me. It looks like it's sleeping."

"Look here stupid. You either move that dog or," Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "I'll tell Tsunade-hime you peeked in on me."

Jiraiya gulped at the threat. "Hey hey relax. Y'know, we never had a bath together! Let's do some brotherly bonding! And if you don't tell her, I'll buy you lunch tomorrow!"

"N-no! No! I said no!" Orochimaru covered his face and silently counted to ten, trying to regain his composure as Jiraiya ignored him and began stripping. When Jiraiya came to his side and put an arm around him, he muttered, "I should have given that ticket to Tsunade instead."

"Yea! Cuz then I can peek in on her instead of a girly looking guy!" Jiraiya laughed. Orochimaru grunted, trying to put some personal space between them and Jiraiya grinned mischievously. "Why are you so embarrassed? Are you trying to hide something from me?" He glanced down at the steamy waters and cocked an eyebrow. In a very quiet whisper, he asked, "Is it... because your snake is tiny?"

Immediately, Orochimaru's hands went to his crotch and his face turned beet-red. "You will die at the stroke of midnight. Any last words?"

"Sure. You can have all of my porn magazines when I die," Jiraiya joked, raising an arm and draping it back over his friend's shoulder. "Anyways, we're going to be in for a long soak, let's talk! Any interest in women instead of your boring books yet?" When Orochimaru grunted, Jiraiya said, "You know I'm not going to let you soak in peace till you talk, snake-eyes."

"As if I can soak in peace with you beside me," Orochimaru muttered. When Jiraiya jokingly batted his eyelashes at him, Orochimaru turned his head away and stayed quiet. After a few minutes, he said, "I saw a bird the other day, staying beside the corpse of another bird. From the looks of it, they were mates."

"How long did it stay?" Jiraiya asked.

"Till it got run over." Orochimaru held up a handful of water, letting it drip through the cracks of his fingers. "You've never lost anyone, have you?"

"That's..." Jiraiya stayed silent, affirming it.

Orochimaru lowered his hand back into the waters. "Sometimes, I wonder if your kindness and warmth stemmed from the fact that you've never experienced any true pain. Once you see and experience the cruelty of this world, you stop trusting in people and you learn to expect the worse. You're too kind and too hopeful. One day, that will crush you."

"So you're saying that those who lived a good life has false warmth?" Jiraiya asked.

"It would take a truly good person to remain caring and kind if they had to go through hell. Many never recover from despair."

Jiraiya smiled. "Maybe it would help if others reach out to help." When Orochimaru's strange eyes moved over to rest on him, Jiraiya said, "People like me, who are lucky enough to never experience pain should be considerate and grateful for that fact, and give some of the kindness we were lucky enough to have, back to those who don't." He stroked an imaginary long beard. "Before life gets all depressing and bitter on people like me, I'd like to spread my joy and naive positivity as you like to call it. Then when I'm all grumpy like you, maybe one of the people who I've made happier, can bring me back my old joy." Almost giving Orochimaru a one arm hug, he said, "I don't like the way you act sometimes but I'm still here for you, buddy."

"Hmph." Orochimaru washed at his face tiredly. "How can you claim to be here for me when you're always protesting against my methods and such? It makes no sense. It's more like you're sticking to me to keep an eye on me."

Jiraiya's chest rumbled with cheerful laughter. "We need each other, snake-eyes. Without you, I wouldn't feel the need to be the more optimistic cheerful person or be motivated to get stronger. Without me, you won't be able to see the good things in this world and change."

Orochimaru scoffed. "Why should I change?"

"Because while staying in your little cocoon is nice and all, changing into a butterfly is better for you, isn't it?"

"You make the dumbest metaphors, idiot."

"I like you, despite the fact that you can be a very cold-hearted, smart ass, bastard," Jiraiya said quietly. "Even though it's easier to give up on people and hate, and believe me I considered it plenty of times before, I can't do it. I know that if I change, you'd lose even more hope in the world. You only have three people whose opinions you actually take into consideration after all." He yawned and leaned over, resting his head against his friend's head, accidentally stabbing Orochimaru in the eye with his spiky hair. "Change is scary bud. I mean, I know that by hoping you'll change, you might change for the worse. Become... I don't know, a mad scientist or something. But on the hand, maybe you can become a happier Orochimaru who'll slow down and learn to value the precious people who love him."

Orochimaru remained silent and Jiraiya smiled. "Unlike you, I think there's value in the fact that life comes to an end. Because we know we don't have all the time in the world, we learn to appreciate the moments we do have. The fact that life is fleeting, gives us a joy in living."

"You're smarter than you look, it seems," Orochimaru said, appreciating the different perspective that his friend was presenting before him. He looked up and said wistfully, "I can respect and understand where you're coming from, Jiraiya. But I... I have my own reasons on why I support eternity."

"Just promise me something bud." Jiraiya took his hand and squeezed it in a brotherly fashion. "Don't lose sight of what's important to you. Sacrifices should be a last resort, not a first. And... no matter how dumb your decisions may be or how much of an ass you can be, I'll forgive you. I might knock out your teeth or break an arm, but in the end, I'll forgive you."

Orochimaru chuckled and looked down at their joined hands, a symbol of their close bond and friendship. "Always the fool. But it's fools like you, who makes the world just abit more interesting sometimes."

With that, they sat together in companionable silence and star gazed together. But after awhile, Jiraya spoke up."By the way… you have a very nice ass. Sexier than a lot of the women I've peeked on." Jiraiya choked when Orochimaru shot out his tongue to strangle him.

"I'll always forgive you," Jiraiya cried through grinded teeth, tears streaming down his face.

"Thank you."

Tsunade watched with hush breath as his body went limp and his Kusanagi sword glowed red. With a shaking hand, she brought her hand to his chest and pressed down. "He's gone," she choked.

The chakra around Jiraiya exploded and his eyes turned feral. His white hair lengthened till it touched the ground and he jumped backward to stand beside Tsunade, who had slowly stood up with their friend's sword in hand. Both of their hair danced from the massive amount of chakra they were letting surge through their chakra paths and the stone beneath their feet cracked. Silently, he placed his hand over hers and said, "We all did this to him. You, Sarutobi-sensei and me."

Her heart cracked as she nodded. "We all knew but we just pretended not to."

My love blinded me to the dangers you'd put yourself through for your dream

My love supported you in continuing down a wrong path

My love encouraged you to never look back since I would always forgive you

Darkwings13:

-Longest chapter ever. Damnnnnnn I went overboard. (*￣Ｏ￣)ノ

- Orochi wanting immortality is actually not something very crazy. Society today has done alot of research in trying to cure disease, illnesses, age and even prolong life. Before people died in their thirties. Now we're like in our seventies. And we keep on trying to push longer and longer. Society at the very heart, wants to achieve immortality.

- ¯\_༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽_/¯ Just saying, there's no way Sarutobi, Tsunade and Jiraiya would have loved Orochimaru so much in the manga/anime if he had been evil right from the start. Gah this chapter is just too much for me. Imma go drown in my tissues now. But yes, even Jiraiya had a hand in why Orochimaru turned out the way he is. Like Naruto, I think they were both kinda weird in saying they'd bring Sasuke and Orochimaru back to the village, implying that all would just be normal and they'd get ice cream and pretend nothing ever's happened. Which was kinda essentially what happened with Sasuke. After all the bs he did, he didn't get punished or anything. If I knew I was always gonna be forgiven like that, I'd break a few rules too lol.

-Which heart to heart did you enjoy reading most? Let me know! I'm curious. I actually had fun writing all of them but Jiraiya's was a tad more light-hearted while Sarutobi's was very impactful on my heart. Tsunade's was sweet.

d(￣▽￣o) Hi JigokuShoujosRevenge. Well Orochimaru already sort of has an idea about immortality based on his white snake experience of rebirth, and his comment to Jiraiya when he did his Body Shedding technique when they fought. The body is what prevents us all from immortality.

(●´･∀･) Oh I love that technique too Lord Creator. When I saw him use it during his fight with Naruto, I was like "That's so sick! 10/10" All of Orochimaru's snake moves are so flashy and interesting. I adore him. The Five Prong seal is pretty neat and useful too! Being able to distort your opponent's chakra and the fact that only four people in the world can undo it, is pretty scary! And no worries! It makes me happy to hear anything from my readers. Means I did a good enough job that anyone would bother to write me a review to talk to this crazy author.

(≧∇≦) I hope the waiting wasn't in vain for you, LuckyLefty77. This chapter was super hard to write so it took awhile.

( v￣▽￣) Oooh I like the words 'Moral Rigidity' from you, xxhebi-himexx! That's awesome! It just gave me a spark of an idea too! Thank you very much friend! And I agree with you how that it's things or people who aren't perfect that interests us. I'm reminded of a comment a developer made for Silent Hill 2. There's something very boring when it comes to someone who is perfect. Someone who has quirks and downfalls, is someone we can empathize with and at the same time, be reminded that ourselves are not perfect. Orochimaru's ambition hit me hardest due to his sheer determination and the fact that he is sooooooo indifferent of people's opinion, always keeping focus on his goals. I admire people who aren't afraid of reaching for the impossible. Too bad his methods were wrong. Le sigh~ I actually don't think Sarutobi would have minded his eternal youth pursuit if it had been conducted ethically.

v('∇'*)⌒ Greetings ileangie23! I enjoyed writing the contrast between Jiraiya and Tsunade for sure. Jiraiya in his own way, loved his friend by not wanting to see him 'stained' with wrong choices. While Tsunade, does the more instinctual thing of supporting Orochimaru and not wanting to see him fail or get hurt so she supports him. She learns eventually... like Sakura... and nearly kills him like Sakura almost tried to kill Sasuke (but failed on an epic level). Oh yea and I sort of did squeal abit when I wrote that cute little part with Oro and Tsu running together. He really isn't good with feelings but it's cute how he tries. First with friendship, and then love. And funny you mentioned Frankenstein! I was always slightly inspired by for eternal life when he lost his mother. I'm definitely going to have fun writing more about that lady. It's mentioned that Hamura moved the rest of their weird alien clan back to the moon, but I'm sure quite a few probaby didn't like the idea and spread out on Earth to avoid that. Just alittle spoiler for my upcoming chapters since I love replying back to when you pick up on things like this my friend. Teehee! As for Goro uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Hint, Forbidden technique coming up. Will be sad. :(

(ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ・‥…━━━ Oh yay! New reader! Hi colourcolour! Ah you're too kind friend. And I do love writing character's growth/change as time goes by, and give reasoning on it. Oh yes it will be as in canon as possible. This is a story I'm writing to sort of analyze Orochimaru, as well as to support the Orotsu ship. Heck, everyone thought Sasuke and Sakura were probably impossible for a time and then they got together. I have hopes for this ship. Especially since Mitsuki, Oro's son, has a hobby of playing cards and databook reading, and is living in Konoha. And Orochimaru is on good relations with the village. Teehee. Muh heart might stop if Tsu is looking after the kid. Oh and I definitely believe he was never 100% evil, especially with the episode where he was at his parents graves and he saved Tsunade. He just.. went cray for a brief period of time. Like Sasuke lol. Thanks again for the review friend!

（＞O＜。）I can't see the whole review because fanfiction site isn't showing your review, Blacklady777. I can only read a part of if in my email and what I can read looks awesome! So unfortunately, I'll have to reply to it next chapter my friend, after I write an angry email tl this site to fix this problem.