Chapter 28: Jiraiya Speaks!

"So, that's it?" Kyoske asked. "You know, we didn't really do anything."

"Other than get our butts handed to us." Kankuro growled. "And waste our time."

"We're not going after them, if that's what you want." Megumi-sensei said.

"Wha-why not?" Tenten asked, stunned. "They have to be close by."

"No, it's not smart. Every time they get away, their numbers increase." Samui said, her arms folded across her bountiful chest.

"Doesn't help that they're strong too." Karui added. "Who knows who the next addition to their team will be."

"The fact that they had Kisame is enough." Hideki said, his words bringing a sort of sober mood over our huddled group.

Itachi and the others had gotten away and though it would've probably taken Neji a few seconds to find their exact location, the Jonin had forbidden it. Too much had happened and Samui agreed. Trying to capture Itachi in our current state, with our current skill set of ninja, wasn't wise. Sure we had the numbers, but the fact that it had taken six of us to try and fight Kisame alone spoke for itself.

"So, what are we going to do?" Kyoske asked.

"We're going to go back to the village and to prepare for the exams." Megumi-sensei answered almost instantly.

"Just like that?" Temari asked.

"Going after them wouldn't be smart and yet what if we did and what if they did have another member? It would only split us up more and then we'd be unprepared to handle someone like Itachi and that would result in our demise by his powerful Genjutsu." Omoi noted.

"We know that already, dingbat." Kyoske growled.

"Don't call him names!" Karui snapped.

"We were told to capture Itachi if we could." Samui said. "Our Raikage thought it would be best to call upon the other nations for assistance, to try and make it easier."

"I didn't see us making much of a dent." Baki said.

"It was worth taking the risk!" Guy said, punching the air swiftly. "We gave it our all and we did it in the name of YOUTH!"

"Shut up, Guy." Megumi-sensei growled.

"We'll go our separate ways then." Samui said. "We'll deliver a report to our Raikage."

"What about the Akatsuki, though?" Tenten asked. "Don't they pose a threat to all the nations?"

"Their purpose isn't clear." Neji said. "They don't seem to move with a purpose either."

"They've wasted a lot of chakra." Megumi-sensei said. "For now their main focus is recuperating."

"They're all merely a blimp on the radar." Samui said.

"The only reason we were given such a task were because of the rumors about Itachi." Karui said. "Which were just rumors."

"Until we saw him with our own eyes." Omoi finished.

"And now it's in ANBU's hands." Samui added.

"But what about what they said about Gaara?" Temari asked.

"What about Gaara?" Kyoske asked, shooting a glance at the boy who was leaning against a tree as far away from us as possible, but still in our view. He didn't react to the mention of his name, he just continued to lean against his tree, his eyes closed, his body relaxed.

"They know what he is." Temari said. "They said something about coming for him."

I remembered that too and I glanced back at Gaara trying to imagine it all. There was no way, no matter how strong the Akatsuki were. Gaara's demon, the One-Tails, was an obstacle they had to overcome first and it protected Gaara over everything else.

"I doubt they'll be able to touch him." Kankuro mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"But it'd be fun to see them try." Kyoske snickered.

"This whole mission was pointless." Neji said, looking annoyed.

"You're just upset because you didn't get to hit Uchiha." Kyoske said.

Neji glared at him. "Like you were able to touch any of them."

A vein pulsed in Kyoske's head and he glared at Neji in response.

"I was just getting warmed up!"

"Is that going to be your excuse during the exams as well when they wipe you clean off your feet?"

"What did you say Hyuga?!" Kyoske shrieked.

"That's enough." Megumi-sensei growled.

"So we're just heading back?" I asked. "Just like that?"

"Our defeat proves it's too much for us to handle, no matter how experienced we all are." Samui said.

I was fine with it all. I was desperate to just get back as quickly as possible. I wanted my answers but just looking at Itachi reminded me of Sasuke and there was an ache in my chest with just the thought of him. Megumi-sensei's warning aside, it didn't change how I felt inside. I didn't even care that we had technically failed another mission.

We said our partings to the Cloud ninja and as everyone else got a head start, Megumi-sensei called us back, motioning for us to move closer.

"What is it, sensei?" Hideki asked.

Megumi-sensei looked down at each of us evenly, though I felt mine was a little more weighted than everyone else's.

"It's about our mission." She said.

"What about it?" Kyoske asked, tensing.

"Late last night a body was found near where the Sand shinobi are staying." Megumi-sensei began, her eyes cutting over to me. "It was Dosu."

My eyes widened in response and Kyoske nearly choked. Hideki didn't seem to have much of a reaction, but his jaw did tense slightly. Megumi-sensei seemed a bit somber as she looked away, her eyes searching for something in the forest beside us.

"What now then?" Hideki asked. "We were only supposed to stay as long as the Sound ninja."

"They were the only team that made it through." Kyoske said. "He was the only one in the final round."

"And he's…dead?" I breathed, still shocked.

"It appears he tried to pick a fight with Gaara and it didn't work out in his favor." Megumi-sensei said.

"Obviously." Kyoske grunted, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"What about that other exam proctor?" Hideki asked. "I saw the report before we left."

"What report?" I asked.

"Hayate." Megumi-sensei. "He's dead as well."

"Wha—" I gawked. "How? What happened to him?"

"It looks like he was in a fight as well and he didn't make it out." Megumi-sensei said. "Took on more than he could handle but the rumor is that he came across Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru killed him?" Kyoske growled. "He was in the village right under our noses?"

"What does that mean? What's going to happen now?" My heart was slamming in my chest as a plethora of answers swirled in my head. Would we be going back to home? But what about Orochimaru? What about the Exams? What about Sasuke? Just thinking about him made my chest ache again and I had to turn away before anyone could see the tears welling up in my eyes.

"I'm not sure." Megumi-sensei said, folding her arms across her chest. "I sent a message to Akane and we'll just be awaiting her response for now."

"But we know what the answer will be." Hideki grumbled. "Let's not beat around the bush."

"But the mission isn't over yet." I said, earning a look from everyone, a lump forming in my throat.

"We'll see for now." Megumi-sensei said. "That's all I can tell you."

"This is crazy." Kyoske growled, kicking the toe of his shoe into the ground.

"But it was Gaara who killed Dosu and it was out of defense? Or do we think it was staged?" Hideki said.

I looked at him. I didn't need anyone to tell me how dangerous and unstable Gaara was. I had seen that all for myself. It also wasn't unlike him to kill for just the hell of it, but the fact that it was Dosu, it made me a little curious. Did the Sand Genin know more than they were letting on?

"It was defense." Megumi-sensei said. "The only one I'm not sure about its Hayate."

"ANBU is looking into his death." Hideki said.

"As they should if it's Orochimaru." I said.

"No…I think it's just his girlfriend going over the top." Megumi-sensei sighed. "I don't believe it was Orochimaru, but then again as curious as I am about Hayate, he's not part of our mission."

Silence followed her words and though she had a point, there was also an edge in her voice. There was nothing more to say, nothing else to do. Hideki was right, we knew the answer and pretending that we didn't would only lead to frustration. I could already see it building in Kyoske who had probably been daydreaming about a fight with someone, anyone really during the exams. Hideki might not have seemed frustrated, but he did look a little disappointed. All that had happened in the past few months hadn't quite been at all what any of us imagined would happen when we agreed to the mission and yet, there we were. I felt an uncertainty bubbling in my belly, as the sour taste of un-satisfaction pooled onto my tongue. Had we failed? It certainly felt like we had no matter where we turned or how many times I looked at all we had done overall. We hadn't done anything but make things worse.

"We should hear back from her in a few days. But, for now, we'll look into Orochimaru only since there are no Sound ninja left to look out for." Megumi-sensei said. "And we'll carry on as normal, continue getting ready for the exam as planned."

"And what happens if we get word to leave?" Kyoske asked, beating me to the question.

Sensei stared down at us, measured each of us with her eyes. She was quiet for a moment but I could see the answer behind her eyes and knew she had had one the moment the question was asked. But, she was building the heart to tell us.

"Then there's only one thing we can do." She said before she began walking past our small circle. "We leave."

I ran toward him, building up chakra in my feet before jumping into the air. I extended my leg and straightened my form just moments before impact but instead of striking Kyoske in his chest as I had intended, his hand caught my foot.

His brow furrowed as his eyes seemed to study mine and I felt myself flush in response. We were both drenched in sweat and while he was using his forehead protector to pull his bangs away from his face, I was relying on my hands running through the front of my hair to pull back the stray strands that stuck to my face and neck. We were fighting in the local training grounds and had been going at it for about two hours nonstop. We were panting, tired, our muscles starting to tense up, but we pushed forward. Kyoske had peeled off his shirt and tossed it to the side and I had noted the group of girls watching, hearts practically shining in their eyes as they watched him fight.

"You're holding back." Kyoske noted, pushing me back and making me stumble.

I gritted my teeth together, fighting back a retort. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't holding back, but just that I couldn't shake Megumi-sensei's words from my head. It had been a few days since she told us about Dosu's remains and we still hadn't received any word from Akane. We were all anxious and it was building, becoming almost inescapable until Kyoske suggested we train. Hideki hadn't been interested and Miyuki-sensei mumbled something about having to run errands so all that really left behind were Kyoske and I and it felt like I couldn't deny it. I didn't have anything else to do anyway and it had been a long time since Kyoske and I trained together anyway. It felt good somehow, right almost.

I was avoiding Sasuke and had been ever since we had returned from the mission. It just didn't feel right after standing and breathing in the same air as his brother to face him and not tell him that I had run into him, that my whole mission was to try and capture Itachi. But, then again thinking about Itachi made me think about my own demons lurking in the shadows and I still couldn't shake Project Zero from my head.

"It's not that." Kyoske said, his eyes breaking away from my face. "You're distracted."

I sucked in a breath, wiping the sticky sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.

'Thinking about your little boyfriend?" Kyoske asked.

I glared at him instantly, feeling my cheeks light up. "Not you too."

He snickered into his glistening shoulder and reached up to scratch the top of his head. "You don't like to be teased…got it."

I walked over to where our training gear lay strewn across the grassy field and picked up my water bottle. The ogling girls squealed and when Kyoske looked over at them, they darted behind a big bush while he stared at the spot where they had been standing, bewildered.

"Your fans?" I asked with light smile on my lips.

Kyoske grinned as I tossed a towel at him. He caught it and wiped his face with it before shooting me another one of hid devilish grins. "More like stalkers I guess. I'm sure Uchiha gets more than me though."

"Not interested in Konoha girls?" I asked, trying to be coy. I didn't want to focus on his words. The thought of other girls pining over Sasuke didn't bother me, but it certainly made me laugh.

Kyoske smiled to himself and shook his head. "No."

"Still all about Samui then?" I asked.

He looked at me.

"How did it feel…seeing her after all that time?"

Kyoske looked away, then up at the sky above and at first he said nothing. But, his aura had changed. He seemed quieter suddenly, smaller almost too.

"It was fine." Kyoske said. "We didn't get to talk much."

I nodded. "Do you miss her?"

He thought about this one and seemed to chew it over in his mouth, his lips twisting. He looked back at me, an easy expression on his face. "Yeah, I guess."

"It's just complicated." I smiled softly.

"Is that her words or yours?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. He was amused for just a brief moment before his lips settled and his brows fell even. Suddenly, he seemed sad, his lips pressed into a tight line. "Did she ask for me that time we went on the mission with the Leaf?"

"Huh?" It was such an odd and sudden question, at first I was speechless but the answer had formed instantly in my mind. I couldn't remember a conversation about Kyoske, just how silly and over the top he would be if he ever laid eyes on her. But, he hadn't said anything to her during our latest mission and I couldn't remember them even looking at each other either.

Kyoske smirked and shrugged, throwing his towel down onto our pile of gear. "It's alright. You don't need to tell me. Something tells me I already know the answer anyway."

"Kyoske—" I began and took a step toward him just as he reached out a hand and caught my arm, stopping me.

He fixed a firm look on me before continuing.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Kyoske asked.

My eyes widened.

"You've been distant ever since we got here and maybe you're going through somethings and maybe not but, we used to come to each other all the time before all this, remember?"

I did. I remembered stormy nights where I had wandered down the halls of Akane's home toward Kyoske's room and had slipped into his bed to ride out the storm. It had gone on for years and it had felt natural, almost as natural as it felt slipping into Sasuke's bed. Kyoske had always been there to push me and support me. An older brother I never got to experience who loved me for me, who wanted the best for me. I saw a lot of him in Naruto though there was a line when it came to eccentricity. Regardless, it had always been the two of us but nowadays I was keeping to myself. I had forgotten all about keeping Kyoske in the loop

"I remember." I managed.

Kyoske nodded. "That still stands…no matter what, right?"

I nodded before a smile broke out across my lips. He was right. Even if I couldn't have Sasuke for long, I still had Kyoske. I still had someone to vent to and though I wasn't ready now, with time someday, I would be. His hand slipped away from my arm but I moved toward him, wrapping my arms around him, not even cringing at the dampness on his skin.

"Really?" Kyoske chuckled, placing a hand at the small of my back.

"You're an idiot, but you're my idiot."

"Thanks, I guess?"

I pulled away a moment later, not even disgusted despite the fact that I had every right to be. I placed his face between my hands and we smiled down at each other as I stood up on the tips of my toes and he bent down just so I could place a small kiss on his cheek. His cheek was damp as well but I didn't mind. It felt just like how it used to, when it was just the four of us, when things weren't so complicated.

There was a sound of someone clearing their throat and we broke away, my eyes snapping open, Kyoske pulling away before swinging around to face the voice. My eyes widened at the sight of it though I had expected such sudden visit at the same time.

"Sasuke.' I said, my voice breathless as I took him in. His hair had gotten even longer since the last time and he looked a little tired as he stood glaring between Kyoske and I. But, his glare was strong as was the fire cackling behind his black eyes.

"What's up, Uchiha?" Kyoske asked, his arms folding across his chest.

It was too easy going for Sasuke's taste and it showed by the way his glare hardened and Kyoske's lips twitched. I stared between the two of them before stepping forward and wrapping Sasuke in a one-armed hug.

"Hey." I greeted, deciding at the last second to take the oblivious route. He didn't buy it, which was fine because I hadn't expected him too. I had avoided him completely, purposely stayed away, avoiding the places I knew he would be. The only good thing was that he had no idea where we were staying but, I knew even that wouldn't last long either. He would find us one way or another and he wouldn't hesitate to come knocking on the door and who knew how Megumi-sensei would react then.

"I'll leave you two to it then." Kyoske said sheepishly, grabbing our gear and giving me a quick nod before sauntering toward the front gates of the training ground. I watched him go, feeling bad but at the same time hating myself for feeling excited by his departure. I hated the part of me that was feeling giddy about being along with Sasuke too. Who knew how long we'd have each other and while I should've let the feeling take over, I fought against it. I couldn't get too attached because that meant leaving would be that much worse and there was already a hole forming in my heart from just the thought of it all.

Sasuke stared at me, his eyes briefly looking me over before they studied my own eyes. I forced a smile onto my lips in response but that didn't seem to lessen the hardness in his eyes.

"You're mad at me." I sighed.

He said nothing at first, just stared at me with that same dark look. I didn't know what else to say but the look on his face was starting to irk me. Why couldn't he just be happy to see me? What was so hard about that? Couldn't he just hug me? Or even better kiss me?

"If this is about the other day with Megumi-sensei—"

"It's not about that." Sasuke said, cutting me off.

I blinked at him, bewildered at first. Then what else could it have been? I feared the worst for a moment, thinking that someone, possibly Neji with as petty as he was from day to day, had told him about Itachi. It certainly seemed possible that such a thing could leave his lips and spitefully too.

"Then what is it?" I asked.

His hands balled into tight fists at his sides, but he took a step toward me, which only made me take a step back. He lifted a hand and caught my wrist, pulling me back toward him and I slid, hesitant and cautious. His eyes were still unreadable, slightly angry and it made me a little unsure of myself.

"When did you get back?"

"A few days ago."

"And what were you doing?"

"On the mission?" I asked. "I can't tell you that. It's confidential."

"No, not on the mission."

I arched an eyebrow and he sighed, and his eyes looked away from my face, irritation making his jaw twitch.

"These past few days." He said through clenched teeth.

It took me a minute but then it hit me. Of all the things, of all the things Sasuke Uchiha was…Sasuke Uchiha was…

I thought back to the kiss I had planted on Kyoske's cheek and the irritated throat clearing that had sounded moments later when I didn't pull away right away. I remembered the look in Sasuke's eyes as I broke away, the blunt and dark stare shot in Kyoske's direction before he saw himself out. It all made sense then and I was blown away, unable to fully wrap my head around it but there it was. It was crystal clear, a dark cloud hovering just above his head.

Of all the things…of all the things…of all the things, Sasuke Uchiha was…

"Are you-are you j-jealous?" I asked, unable to stifle the smile spreading across my lips.

His eyes widened a fraction before they settled back into his familiar dark expression. But, all that did on my end was make me smile even more and before I could stop myself, I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close. He stumbled to support us both at first, one of his arms wrapping around my waist to secure me while the other flailed briefly, before holding midair.

"What's your problem?" Sasuke grunted, sounding annoyed and for all I knew as I buried my face into his neck, looked it too.

But, I ignored him. He could get prissy all he wanted but it didn't stop it from being true. Sasuke Uchiha, jealous. Jealous that I had kissed someone else, someone like Naruto even. I couldn't help the smirk that came over my lips. Jealous? It was the one emotion I had always been willing to bet Sasuke never felt and yet, there it was. I breathed in the scent of him, bracing my head on his shoulder to get a better whiff when I heard another familiar voice in the distance.

"Well, maybe if you weren't so busy scoping out girls, I wouldn't call you out Pervy Sage!"

It was Naruto's voice, sharp and shrill, and just beyond the gates of the training ground. I stiffened and looked and sure enough there was Naruto nagging the Sanin Jiraiya who was glaring down at him.

"All you've done is give me problems with the ladies, kid." Jiraiya shot back.

"Well, do your job and we wouldn't have any problems!" Naruto fired right back, which made Jiraiya's face redden even more.

I pulled away from Sasuke, feeling my hands begin to tremble. I had known what I wanted on the mission, had set my mind on finding answers. I couldn't go to Kakashi because I was sure he didn't know much and he would hint Megumi-sensei off. As for the other Jonin, Kurenai and Asuma, I was willing to bet those two didn't know any more than Kakashi knew. I knew Jiraiya was the only one who knew it all because Megumi-sensei wouldn't tell me especially after he left her speechless. I had been building courage the past few days so that when I faced Jiraiya, I was ready for anything but now, now, he was so close and so were my answers.

I pulled away from Sasuke and met his carefully measured gaze. I forced a tight-lipped smile before pressing a firm kiss to his cheek.

"I'll see you tonight, I promise." I said, backing away, toward Jiraiya and Naruto. "There's just something I need to do first."

He watched me go, his expression as unreadable as always, but he didn't protest. I jogged toward Jiraiya and Naruto and just as I reached the gate, Jiraiya glanced up at me. I watched as his expression changed. I arrived just in time to cut Naruto off in whatever lecture he was in the middle of giving and watched as even he slowly turned to face me.

"I need to speak with you." I said the moment silence fell and I watched as this registered in his head before his lips pressed into a tight line.

We settled in a small barbeque shop but it was clear by the way he ordered tea that we weren't there for the food. We sat across from each other, his expression stern and something told me he didn't wear a look like that often. I thought back to all that Orochimaru had told me about him, a distant tone in his voice. Flashy. Crazy. Over the top. He had always sounded like quite a character, a jokester of sorts and now facing him with his imposing face, it certainly felt different.

He sighed and eased back into his seat and I marveled as the small action made him seem just a little more relaxed. We stared at each other for a few more moments and just as I was about to lift a hand to wipe at the underside of my nose, he spoke.

"You look just like her." Jiraiya said, his voice surprisingly gentle despite his expression just a few moments ago. "Just like your mother."

My eyes widened. "You knew my mother?" I gasped.

Jiraiya smirked. "Of course I did. Her and the Fourth weren't too apart from each other age-wise."

I nodded, torn suddenly between wanting to know more about my mother and finding out about Project Zero.

"But, we're not here for that." Jiraiya said, folding his hands over his tea cup.

I nodded. "You're right."

"So go on." Jiraiya said, motioning toward me. "Tell me why we're here."

I swallowed, finding it surprisingly difficult. There I was demanding answers from a Sanin. I would never have done such a thing to Orochimaru back in the day and a part of me knew that even now, even with as much hatred as I had in my heart for him, I wouldn't be able to demand anything of him.

"I heard everything the other day." I said. "But I want to know about Project Zero."

Jiraiya nodded, seeming to think over my words before he took a careful sip of his tea. I watched him, watched the thoughts form in his head and watched as they travelled down to his lips.

"I know you heard everything, I hope you stayed for all of it."

"I stayed up until the part where you insinuated that I tried to kill my sensei."

"You weren't yourself." Jiraiya said. "And I didn't insinuate."

I pressed my lips into a tight line.

"Regardless, I'm pretty sure I said everything I knew that day." Jiraiya said.

"What about the other experiment?" I asked. "Do you know who they are?"

Jiraiya smirked. "The failed experiment? I don't think anyone knows who it is."

"Then what about Project Zero?"

Jiraiya seemed to hesitate for just a moment before his eyes drifted above me, toward the exit. They hovered there for a few minutes until they found my face again and he let out another sigh, this one exasperated.

"Project Zero is you and whoever the failed experiment is." He placed his forefinger and thumb on the bridge of his nose and shot me an even look. "I don't know much about it, just what ANBU gathered from his files."

I nodded.

"He was never satisfied having two separate bodies. The power was meant to be combined and he tried to do just that but it had disastrous effects. There had to be a balance of some sort and the only way realistically to bring it all together involved getting a whole new body that was strong enough to handle it and killing the other two."

I bit down on my lip to keep myself from having any sort of reaction. It was just like Orochimaru to want such a thing and I could imagine him underneath all his kindness and soft words, wanting something so dark. I had always suspected it, under all his kindness that he was planning something darker. But, I had always been blinded, always second -guessed myself, always told myself that I was wrong. But, I was right. I had always been right. He was the monster and I was just his pawn.

"Then there was the issue that you yourself were unstable. The failed experiment was too weak and you were too unpredictable. It was impossible to control and when the failed experiment tried to strike back, it was just as disastrous. He cast them out, threw them out into the streets and nothing much else is known. Project Zero was abandoned and he moved on with you by his side."

"But no one knows where they are?" I asked.

"I do know that they were incredibly weak. The fight that the two of you had really weakened them. I wouldn't be surprised if they were dead."

I nodded and took a shaky sip of my tea.

"But, of course that's impossible because that's the root of Project Zero." Jiraiya said, forcing me to nearly choke on my tea.

"What are you talking about?"

"If the other half was dead, you'd be dead too. The power seeks out its other half and it would have forced its way into your body. Which would have been overload in the state that Orochimaru had you in when Megumi found you."

"Okay…"

"It would have killed you without a doubt." Jiraiya finished. "Even now, it would still be overload."

I lifted a hand and placed it over my cursed mark, feeling a distant ache shoot up the side of my neck.

"You have to admit, not using it puts you at ease just a little." Jiraiya said, his eyes observant.

I flushed and looked away. He had a point.

"But you can always feel it, something stronger than yourself. Something uncontrollable just underneath your skin. The mark helps hold it back, but imagine if that wasn't there?" Jiraiya leaned forward and my eyes darted over to his eyes.

"You don't remember what it felt like whenever it slipped out?"

I thought back to my nightmares, the feeling of something bursting out from my body and the horrible sounds that followed. I remembered it, somehow. Maybe not the way it really was, but it was a memory either way.

"He wiped your memory." Jiraiya said. "That was something he failed to do with the experiment, that part was written clear as day."

"Why didn't he?" I asked, finding my voice.

"If he had, maybe they'd be more like you, able to assimilate into society, able to make people doubt what lurks under their skin." Jiraiya said. "The memory wipe helped you sleep at night."

"So it was necessary." I mumbled, my fingertips digging further into the mark.

"It worked." Jiraiya said with a shrug.

"But sensei…"

"Your sensei is and was a lot of things, but she's stubborn. She thinks she can handle things that she can really barely comprehend."

I shot him a look.

"That's not necessarily bad, but it's not necessarily good either. When she found you that day, she vowed to protect you, vowed to show the world that you were good, could be good."

"But with the way you were attacked her the other day…"

"We go back." Jiraiya said. "Your sensei's no saint, at least not the way she paints herself to be in your eyes."

I pressed my lips into a tight line, fighting back the urge to tell Jiraiya that he didn't need to tell me that. My sensei had told me about her past, the person she was, all that she had done. Maybe there was more, but I had the general idea down. She was a spoiled brat, had taken everything and everyone for granted and thought the world owed her everything. She had been kidnapped numerous times, to the point where it shouldn't have surprised anyone but then one day she got her act together, took a stand and vowed that she would never be weak ever again.

"But I'm not here to bash her." Jiraiya said dryly. "I don't know much about her these days, I just know her past."

"What are the consequences?" I asked.

"Consequences?" Jiraiya asked before downing his tea.

"You said before that there would be consequences if I found out what I really was."

Jiraiya nodded. "For starters you could seek out Orochimaru on your own for answers or you could seek out the power of the demon, try to bring it out so that you could see the power for yourself, putting everyone in this village at risk."

"Megumi-sensei would stop me."

"She almost died the last time she tried to suppress your power and if she dies in the process Konoha turns to its next option."

I arched an eyebrow before it hit me. Naruto. Naruto with the Nine Tails awakened within him, forced to defend the village. I shivered at the thought and instantly felt bad.

"Naruto." I breathed.

Jiraiya nodded. "It should never come to that. The fox is uncontrollable and it killed the Fourth by him just trying to seal it away, so imagine having to calm it down once it's out?"

I nodded in response and looked down at the tea leaves in my cup, feeling my insides twist. I wouldn't seek out Orochimaru and I wouldn't try to summon the power on my own, my nightmares scared me enough to prevent that. I didn't want to put my friends in danger and I most certainly didn't want Naruto to get hurt in the process.

His chair scraped back against the tile and I looked up just in time to see him rise from the table. He stepped to the side of the table and offered me a stiff smile.

"Are you afraid of me?" I asked.

He looked at me for another brief moment before his smile deepened, became less shaky.

"Kid, I'm not afraid of much anymore."

"You're always on edge whenever you look at me."

"I know what you're capable of." Jiraiya said before giving me his back. "And I see the company you keep."