AN: This is not on the update list. I am supposed to be trying to finish Forsaken of the Desert (14 chapters my big booty..sheesh that thing isn't even a quarter done. Why is it taking so long?) And then honestly I meant to focus on Carapace and Ghost until they were done. But someone left a review here. And another. And another. And then yes, I had a chapter that decided to come out. Just in case you thought maybe your reviews didn't help, when I have zero inspiration sometimes I actually go -okay so if something gets x reviews I'll update it just because clearly people want it- There you have it. Though I am so highly entertained by the number of people happy with my screw it this is my life now Jiraiya and shipping her with Orochimaru. Also to the fantastic reviewer who pointed it out yes they are older than cannon. I have issues with five and eight year olds being on the front line. It's called muscular skeletal development and reaction times amongst other things. Let's just call them nine. I knew a few girls who later had stupidly large chests that started to show at that age. Poor things.

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Orochimaru really should have come to terms with the fact by now that he was the favored student. More, he should have just logically accepted that due to reasons of blood relations from Tsunade to Hiruzen's own sensei not to mention the first and second Hokage, she was not only the other favorite but downright sheltered.

However, despite all his advanced intellect especially for his young age, Orochimaru had simply never considered that must mean a scape goat was needed to balance out the blatant favoritism. Oh certainly he knew his sensei did not think well of Jiraiya, always brushing off his second kunoichi's moments as sheer luck and stupid chance but for some reason the out right..dismissal..of Jiraiya's qualifications to be a shinobi and down graded into tolerated menace had never been so forcibly shoved into his face. And Orochimaru had to confess there was a queasiness taking hold around his digestive system at the sudden questioning if this was not at all a new thing but simply one the supposed genius of the group had overlooked because it had not been something his mind had been drawn to consider before this. After all, Orochimaru was entirely aware of how unique and fantastic his best friend was. The idea that the common layperson was not still..seemed surreal.

Yet.

Not an hour before Orochimaru had witnessed Jiraiya track down a base of thieves, infiltrate and successfully negotiate with notoriously tricky summons for a demeaning task Orochimaru was still not certain he would have been able to pull off. Certainly not in that fashion! At least not without immense prostration on his own part. That same white haired girl had comforted him to get over the immediate shock of his first kills and not hesitated to grasp his still blood covered hands, nor treat him any differently save perhaps with a bit more care and a lot less sharp tongue remarks. There had been neither coddling nor condemnation but easy acceptance of the facts in a method that Orochimaru's brain had latched onto because that he understood.

And yet Orochimaru now found himself standing besides Tsunade in stunned silence, his entire form awash in cold. Whether from shock, anger, embarrassment..he was not certain. Perhaps even emotions he had yet to name in awareness as truly before Jiraiya had barged her way into his life he had fluctuated from curious to bored and nowhere else.

Said friend -best friend, perhaps even truthfully only real friend- was currently being held by her ankles and shaken by their sensei as he attempted to dislodge what contraband was certainly hidden amongst her pockets, professed of sticky fingers as she was. Fortunately she attired herself more in a boyish fashion still and it certainly could not disturb her locks any further, but the simple embarrassing display in front of civilians, had made Orochimaru motionless. He was startled, and it felt as if his brain always unceasingly on overdrive had screeched to a halt at the scene he was witnessing. Entirely unable to comprehend it.

Why was this happening?

"Pfft lemme down old man! Like I'd secure things that shabby!" Jiraiya mouthed off even as she turned pink from the blood rushing to her head. Her eyes had not left Hiruzen's own since he had suddenly had her in this state. Fury made her skin nigh as pale as her hair, though with the blood going to her cranium it was doubtful anyone could see the pallor. Oh certainly she'd half expected this, even placed a few trinkets where they would easily be seen but she'd thought her sensei would display truly exceptional skills and pickpocket her without her noticing. Or perhaps simply ask her in which case she would have slowly passed every trinket over in time. That was why she'd begged the beautiful blue scaled serpent to take that which seemed of value, because the odds of her being permitted to keep anything were quite simply zero.

But this?

Yeah. Okay. Jiraiya was getting seriously annoyed.

A harder shake was the answer and one lone necklace finally dislodged from it's precarious position at her sash round her waist. It wasn't even the better item hidden in the fabrics' folds entirely expected to be confiscated.

Slowly Hiruzen's face turned red in anger, resembling someone fairly along the constipated spectrum. One more hard shake and then he simply dropped Jiraiya, letting her land with an aborted hiss on her shoulder. Aborted because she was a civilian orphan and admitting to pain was not done if you wanted to be taken seriously as a ninja. Nor was there health care for the poor and outcast. Fortunately the pain was a dull one from impact not the eye watering warning of a dislocated limb or something broken. Hokages knew she'd made Orochimaru set her limbs enough as she had done for him to know what that type of pain felt like.

"Ow!" Didn't mean she wasn't going to hope to distract from the whole stolen objects in her clothing part.

"Jiraiya. I am very disappointed in you. Now, hand them over."

Slowly Jiraiya flopped onto her back and then sat up, half scowling half pouting up at their sensei, an expression all the stranger considering the red tear drop marks on her face. "Aw come on Sensei.."

"Hand. Them. Over."

Grumbling Jiraiya stood up and without ever really showing where the things were hidden thanks to long practiced sleight of hand, she passed each of the planned items over. Only hesitating on the last. A small pendant.

"All of them Jiraiya."

"I.." Jiraiya looked from it up to Hiruzen, her expression easily readable to Orochimaru. This was one item she had thought she'd given to his summons and not realized otherwise. While curious as to why she seemed so unusually recalcitrant he knew not to underestimate his best friend.

"Can I..please. Keep this one? Please sensei?"

"No Jiraiya. Hand it over."

Jiraiya looked back down, running her thumb over the pale stone. "But..it reminds me of Oro's eyes.."

So busy looking at her treasure she missed the sudden wide eyed and blushing expression on Tsunade and Hiruzen as they read more into that statement than just Jiraiya wanting another reminder of her best friend. For his own part Orochimaru resisted the urge to smile, amused that even with him physically there she wanted another symbol of their relationship. How utterly like his sentimental idiot of a best friend.

"Ah...I see..well.." Hiruzen cleared his throat. "I suppose...I can allow that."

Jiraiya blinked up at them, completely puzzled as to why Tsunade was clearly hiding a squeal and Hiruzen seemed rosy cheeked himself. What, was there a fever catching?