Chapter 20

On the Road to the Next Town

"So Alvarcus," Jiraya starts up a conversation out of nowhere, "what do you know about seals?"

"Seals? They can do pretty much anything, the field is limitless in its application. Just look at the Fourth Hokage, he used seals to make his signature technique, the Hirashin. I don't know if this is true, but I have always thought seals depend on the users intent as well as the structure of the seal itself. How else would storage seals work? You would need to make a unique seal for everything unless there is a variable that can be determined by the user at the point of activation."

"That..." Jiraya says slowly, "is very accurate. Have you used seals before?"

"Nope. I looked into seals about a month or so back between the second stage and the third stage of the Chunin Exams. I wanted to see if they could be used to get rid of the Jiongu, but even if they can it would take me years, decades, to become good enough to do so." I explain myself to Jiraya.

"Hmm... I've never considered something like that. You could use a variant of a bijuu seal, that could contain it. I could whip something up if you give me a month or two. I can't promise it will work."

"I wouldn't survive it." I bluntly say.

"How would you know? I'm the only seal master around here, I know what I'm talking about." Jiraya looks offended, I did just kinda imply he couldn't do something.

"You don't understand." I begin to explain my reasoning, "My Jiongu isn't like what you think. It is not the version from Taki. Orochimaru changed it. Made it different. Taki's version is symbiotic, mine is parasitic. I would die without it. I wasn't kidding when I said I only have two functioning organs back at the hotel. The Jiongu replaced everything but my skin and heart. Unless your seals can re-create organs and seal away the Jiongu, I won't survive."

"Interesting. Tsunade would love to dissect you. Anyways, this conversation got off track. I was asking you about seals because I need to gauge what you already know."

"Uh... some very low level theory? Why?" I squeak out a response. He can't be offering to teach me seals. He wouldn't do that, would he? Earlier he said he wouldn't be teaching me anything! Where's this coming from?

"Your teammate has a very unique seal." Oh. That's what this is about.

I nod my head in agreement, Sasuke's cursed seal is one of a kind.

"I want to make sure you know not to mess with it."

I turn towards Jiraya, giving him my undivided attention. "How stupid do you think I am? I practically demanded that he never use it. Ever. It's from Orochimaru, there is no way it can be good for him."

Jiraya regards me coolly. "Doesn't that sound hypocritical? You use what he gave you all the time."

"It's different. You know it is. The curse seal is much worse than the Jiongu."

"Really? How would you know that? From my point of view as a seal master that has seen both firsthand, the Jiongu is worse. Much worse."

"Bullshit. The Jiongu is not worse. Yes, it is parasitic and ate literally almost all of my insides but it works with me. We co-exist, the host and the parasite. One would die without the other, so we work together. It doesn't try to take over, it doesn't try to control me. At the worst it just wants to be used, I look at it as a sentient tool. But the cursed seal? Who knows what that does, all we know is that once Sasuke runs out of chakra it activates and empowers him. At what cost? You have to remember, my gift is originally from Taki, yes Orochimaru changed it but it is a Taki creation. Sasuke's gift is from Orochimaru, created by Orochimaru for reasons only he knows, and created just for Sasuke. Orochimaru came to the forest just to give it to him. I fear for Sasuke, the Snake Sannin is very interested in him."

"Interesting perspective. What makes you think Orochimaru is interested in Sasuke so much? Interested enough to seek him out specifically?"

Crap, did I say too much? I have to remember this man is a spy master. His information network is vast, and he runs it all.

"Orochimaru mentioned that souls aren't meant to inhabit different bodies, and that he knows from experience. I think he wants the Sharingan." I'll give you this much Jiraya, nothing more. Please, take the warning.

Jiraya pales. "He finished it. I never thought he would, it's supposed to be impossible." Jiraya rounds on me. "Why did he tell you that? Surely he would have killed you if you knew his secret."

I gulp nervously. "I can't say."

Jiraya's voice softens, "Kid, I'm not going to do anything to you. You can tell me."

"You don't understand, its not I won't say, it's that I can't say. It is classified by the Third Hokage."

Jiraya raises an eyebrow at me. "And? I have the clearance."

This won't go over well. "No, you don't."

Jiraya bristles. "Listen here punk, I'm cleared to know even S-rank secrets. Tell me."

"I can't. It isn't a S-rank secret." I pause, please don't hurt me for this, "It is SS-rank. I've been forbidden from telling anyone, even the next Hokage. No one can ever know, or I will be hunted down and tortured until I share it. The only reason I'm telling you this much is because you wouldn't stop asking unless I did. I'm not even going to mention it to Tsunade if she does become the next Hokage."

Jiraya regards me coldly for an uncomfortably long time.

"Tou-san? Ka-san? Please stop fighting." Naruto sarcastically says from behind us. "You're scaring me."

"Smooth Naruto. Real smooth." I grunt back to him.

"Stupid brat. You must have had the world's worst chunin exam."

"You have no idea how right that is. The best part is I don't even know if I got promoted! I might have to do it all again! My heart can't take the stress!"

Jiraya snorts. "You have spares."

Didn't this happen before? Oh my Kami, Jiraya and Sasuke made the same joke.

Later That Night, At a Hotel

"I'll get it this time for sure." Naruto confidently holds a water balloon at arms length. "Come on!" His chakra spikes. "I've got this!"

"Hey Naruto." I ask from a chair.

"I'm trying to focus here!"

"Yeah me too." I wave my suspiciously orange book at him. "Kinda hard to do that when you're talking to yourself."

"Gah! I give up for today." He tosses the balloon into the sink and it explodes. "Dammit. Why can't I get this?"

You have to rotate your chakra into more than one path, there has to me multiple flows to provide instability and give the technique it's fabled grinding power. "You'll figure it out eventually."

"I know but I want to do it now!" He stomps over to the cupboard and pulls out a cup of ramen. That kid is obsessed, somethings are just destined to be. "You want one?"

"Nah, I'm not hungry." I shut my book. Now is as good as a time as any. I don't know when Naruto and I will be alone again. "Hey Naruto? Can I ask you something?"

"What do you want to know? Is it about..." He trails off and places a hand over his seal. "If you want to ask about it, go ahead. You told me about yours least I can do is return the favor."

"No, it's not about that." Kami this is going to suck. "It's about Sakura."

"Oh."

"How are you holding up?" I softly ask. "I know you had a huge crush on her in the Academy."

"Uh... yeah. I did. It's terrible that she died." He takes a shaky breath. "But – now don't think less of me for this – that was really mostly an act."

"An act?" I don't believe that. I can't believe that. Why would that be an act?

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, at first it was real but it faded with time." He shrinks on himself, he's ashamed. "I wanted to make friends. I wanted people to want to be my friends. And Sakura was so popular and cool and smart all from the first day of the Academy. If I could become her friend, better yet if we dated, then my popularity would go up to. I'd make friends with her friends and then with their friends and... then I wouldn't be alone. I wouldn't be hated by everyone."

"I... wow. Really?" He had everyone convinced that was real.

"Yeah. That really bad right?" He chuckles darkly to himself. "Honestly I have no idea how you did it."

"Sorry what? How I did what?" What's he talking about?

"Alvarcus you were always alone. You never tried to talk to anyone. You always isolated yourself away from everyone, like you didn't want friends. We called you the strange kid in the back during the Academy. I mean you barely even spoke most of the time!"

"Oh that." Now it's my turn in the hot seat. How did this happen? I just wanted to make sure he wasn't taking Sakura's death too harshly! "I'm not really a people person."

"I call bullshit. You got Sasuke of all people to open up." He walks over and plops down in a chair across from me. "Not to mention how well you handled yourself throughout the Chunin Exams. You were confident, you were prepared, you were leading your team. And don't think I don't remember your speech during the first exam. You really think someone who isn't a people person would have the guts to stand up and say all of that? Hell you even inspired me and I'm not on your team!"

"I did what anyone would do." I did what you were supposed to do.

"Pfft yeah right. Anyways, it's me who should be asking you about Sakura. She was your teammate not mine, you're the one that was closer to her. How are you coping with her death?"

Sniff Sniff. "Naruto somethings burning."

"My ramen! NOOO!" He rushes off to his ruined meal.

I dodge a kunai there.

It took the better part of a week of traveling from town to town for Jiraya to get Tsunade's location. Throughout that time Jiraya taught Naruto the first two steps to the Rasengan. He didn't let me watch their training, probably because he wanted to make sure only Naruto learned the jutsu. I can't blame him. In the correct hands the Rasengan is a deadly tool and let's face it, Jiraya doesn't know me at all.

We didn't talk much, mostly it was Jiraya ordering me around and Naruto working solely on the Rasengan. Naruto never even challenged me to a spar, every waking moment he had was devoted to the technique. I was basically left alone to do my own thing, I threw myself into training hardcore.

I still have nightmares from the Chunin Exams. I doubt they will ever go away. It wasn't strange for me to stay out all night, I would just keep going not realizing how long I was gone for. Turns out I can go for days, literally. The first two nights I didn't sleep. My body never got tired thanks to the Jiongu, and I ignored the desire to sleep. Sleep meant remembering. I don't want to remember.

Eventually I decided that I deserve a break and need to relax. Just because I can train for days without stopping doesn't mean I should.

That is how Jiraya found me in our hotel room for the day, relaxing on the couch and reading a book.

"Oi, kid I know where... she's... is that Icha Icha?"

"Yep." I don't bother looking up from the book, I'm at a good part.

Jiraya's whole body is brimming in happiness. "You know who wrote those right?"

I turn the page. "Yep. Nice work, after seeing Kakashi read these so much I decided to give it a shot. It is surprisingly well written, it's not just pure smut like I expected. You have character development and real life situations. Out of curiosity is the plot based off of your experiences?"

Jiraya actually has a tear in his eye. "Why can't Naruto be more like you?" He whines to the heavens.

"Self sufficient and enjoys good literature?" I ask for clarification.

"Yes! My life would be so much easier!"

I laugh, "Naruto is starved for attention. The village hates him, I don't get it. He's a good kid. Yeah, he can be annoying but we all have our quirks. He's annoying, you like to introduce yourself with a song and dance, and I... uh... huh. How am I quirky?"

"You're obsessed with chakra strings."

"I am not! They are just so cool! And useful! And awesome!"

Jiraya laughs at me. "I watched you train a few times, kid you are obsessed. Elemental chakra strings? That sphere defense you do with those is impressive. And those floating kunai? It is no wonder people think you have the magnet release. No one has ever used chakra strings the way you do. You'd be a terror with just those alone. Honestly I'm surprised you're not in any official bingo book yet. You made some serious waves during the invasion."

I grin and look up from my book. "I know right? Finally someone appreciates my brilliance. That makes two people!"

"Who was the other one?" Jiraya asks, genuinely curious.

"Orochimaru." I growl out. "It is probably what inspired him to give me the Jiongu, it works similarly to chakra strings to begin with."

The atmosphere turns sour. Orochimaru is a touchy subject for us both. We sit in silence for awhile, Jiraya lost in thought and I go back to my book.

Finally I break the silence. "You were saying something when you came in here? We kind of got distracted."

Jiraya straightens up to his full height. "That's right! I've gotten a lead on Tsunade. She's only supposed to be one town over, they have some large casinos there. It makes sense, she does like to gamble."

"Great!" I put my book down. "I'll start packing. You go get Naruto since you don't want me observing his training. Stupid secretive shinobi." I mumble the last bit to myself.

"We leave when I get back with Naruto." Jiraya heads to the door.

"OI! I am not packing your stuff for you!" I call after him.

On the Road to the Next Town

"So Naruto, how goes the super secret jutsu that I have no idea about?" Jokes on them, I already know.

"It's really difficult. I'm on the last step though! I'll have this down in no time!" Naruto boasts loudly.

"Good for you. Is it cooler than my combo with Gamabunta?"

Naruto gets a dreamy look on his face. "I wish. That was so COOL! Gamabunta was like 'blurgh' and you were all 'whoosh' and that thingy you use was like 'spit' and BOOM fire everywhere!"

Jiraya laughs at Naruto's description.

I sigh, "Yes Naruto. That's exactly how it all happened. Those sound effects and everything."

"You should teach me how to do that!" Naruto grabs my shoulders and looks at me with big puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

"Gross, you should never make that face again. Ever. That look is reserved for kids or hot women. Besides, it would only work if you have multiple elemental affinities. I doubt you have fire, water, and whatever the oil one is based off of. Earth?"

"Actually," Jiraya cuts in, "that is something the Toads teach. It isn't really a nature change, it's closer to a unique form of summoning. Tastes disgusting."

"Well, I'm never going to learn that then." Pity, spitting oil would be great. I could do my own combination attacks with it to enhance fire.

"Yeah, I'm the only summoner of the Toads for our generation." Naruto adds in. "You could get another contract though! It won't be as cool as the Toads!"

"You got that right!" Jiraya boasts, "Nothing is as cool as the Toads! Besides, they wouldn't accept you as a summoner. You don't fit their criteria."

"Thanks Jiraya. You really know how to cheer a guy up."

Can I even use summons? I hope the Jiongu didn't mess with that, having a summon would be cool.

"Its business time now kids! I can see the town."

Sure enough there it is, the walls are in sight.

"I could have sworn there was a castle here." Jiraya scratches his head. "Come on brats, we're checking this out. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Jiraya breaks into a run with Naruto and I right behind him. Soon we come up on rubble, ruins of what once was a castle.

"I knew there was a castle here. I wonder what happened? It isn't everyday a castle crumbles."

"We can ask around town while we look for Tsunade. I'm sure the townspeople have rumors about the event." I offer a solution, standing here and looking at the castle won't do us any good.

We head into town. I can tell Jiraya is listening in on conversations from the civilians, I am too. It's super easy for me since the Jiongu naturally enhances my senses. Say what you will about it, but it does come in handy.

"Did you hear what happened to the castle just outside of town?"

"Yeah some giant snakes destroyed it. How crazy is that?"

Jiraya and my eyes lock together. We both have the same thought, Orochimaru. He's here.

"Come on kids. Let's get some food then find a place to stay. We might be here a while looking for her." Jiraya is on high alert. I wonder how long it has been since all three Sannin have been in one place?

We make our way over to a random bar and enter. "Jiraya," I say, "You do know that Naruto and I can't legally drink yet right? Cuz this is a bar. Can we even be in here?"

"You're wearing a shinobi headband. You're fine." Jiraya observes the occupants quickly, taking stock of everyone here. "Well I'll be a Toad's Uncle! It's Tsunade!"

Sure enough, Tsunade is sitting with what has to be Shizune in one of the far booths and she's drinking like there is no tomorrow. That is incredibly lucky.

"Hey! Tsunade long time no see!" Jiraya plonks down in the booth across from Tsunade. Naruto sits next to Jiraya and I pull up a chair, the booth only seats four. "How have you been?"

Tsunade sighs in defeat. She's trapped and she knows it.

"I am well. How are you?" Tsunade responds very formally.

"I'm doing great! I've got me a new student here. Oi. Naruto. Introduce yourself." Jiraya starts poking him in the shoulder, "Go on. Do it."

"Hi!" Naruto says with way too much enthusiasm. He's wearing his mask again, he's hiding behind this ridiculous exterior so no one really sees his pain. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, the Toads and Jiraya-sensei and Alvarcus! I dislike waiting the two minutes it takes for ramen to cook and Jiraya's weird perverted books. My dream for the future is to be the Hokage one day!"

Tsunade is overwhelmed by Naruto's exuberance. Her mouth is gaping open.

"Yes, he is always like that. I'm Alvarcus Mar. Pleasure." I flag down the waiter and Naruto and I place food orders.

"I'm Tsunade. This is Shizune." Tsunade grunts out quickly, her formal tone is now gone. Shizune waves friendly at Naruto and me.

Tsunade and Jiraya chat about old times for a bit, and our food arrives. Shizune, Naruto and I stay out of the conversation, letting the Sannin talk.

It was a nice affair, then Jiraya had to ruin it.

"So, Tsunade, what does Orochimaru want with you?"

I crush my glass in my hand. Water and glass spills on the table. I couldn't help myself, I have serious issues with that man.

"Sorry. I have a very bad history with Orochimaru."

Tsunade regards me with interest. "You and me both kid. Shizune, heal her hand will you?"

"There's no need. I healed it myself already." I'm not even lying, the Jiongu pushed out the glass fragments and has stitched closed the wounds. Hold up a moment. Did she say her?

Tsunade snorts in amusement. "You brought a green medic nin along? How cute. She might have skill though, I didn't see her make hand seals or even a green glow. Sweetie, I know you think the sunglasses make you look more menacing, but from one kunoichi to another your feminine charms are a much better tool."

"Tsunade?" Shizune says with a red face. "That's... well..."

Snicker. Giggle.

"This is supposed to be the world's best medic min? Jiraya I think we wasted our time here, she's clearly gone senile."

"BAHAHAHA!" Naruto is slapping the table and Jiraya's while body is shaking with suppressed laughter.

"What the hell are you talking about!? I am the world's best medic nin! I've saved countless lives cured hundreds of poisons, I've revolutionized the entire program for training new medics!"

"Yet you can't tell I'm a boy. How unfortunate."

"Oh." She eyes me up and down. "Really?"

"Yes!"

"... Sorry about that. You have lovely hair so I just assumed."

"Anyways," Thankfully Jiraya interrupts, "now that Alvarcus isn't holding anything breakable and we've confirmed that he is in fact male, what did Orochimaru want with you?"

"Nothing." Tsunade instantly replies. "Better yet, what do you want with me? You didn't come all the way out here just to talk."

"You're right. I'm here on official business. Konoha needs a Hokage, someone strong. Someone with experience. Someone who has strong ties to the previous Hokages. Konoha needs you back." Here it is, the question of the decade. "Will you become the fifth Hokage?"

"No. That job is cursed. Only the foolish would take that offer. Who ever takes that position will die. It's a death sentence."

"Jiraya we're done here." Naruto venomously growls out. "I don't want her as the Hokage. She doesn't deserve it."

"Of course I deserve it." Tsunade blandly looks at Naruto. "You really think Jiraya came all this way because he wanted to? I'm the best choice."

"That was before we saw how pathetic you are." I coolly regard her. "No one will want you as the Hokage if they could see you now. Look at yourself, you're getting shitfaced in a seedy bar at two in the afternoon. They used to call you Lady Tsunade. Look how far you've fallen."

"Brats. Outside. Now. Someone has to teach you both some manners since your sensei obviously didn't."

"In my defense I'm only teaching Naruto." Jiraya clarifies. Big help he is.

"You want to settle this with fists? Fine! Let's go!" Naruto is revving to go.

I stand up and start walking away. "Not worth my time. I have better things to do." Like figure out how I can get Tsunade back to Konoha to fix Kakashi and Sasuke if she doesn't become the next Hokage.

"You don't have a choice." Her hand falls on my shoulder and all but crushes it. Great, now this is happening. I hope she doesn't throw me. "Orange boy! Let's go."

Tsunade, Jiraya, Shizune, Naruto and I all walk outside. Well they walked I was dragged. Tsunade is seriously strong.

"So who's first?" Tsunade tosses me at Naruto. Dammit I didn't want to be thrown. I hope this doesn't become a common thing. "Orange boy or the squirt? Maybe you want to attack together?"

"My name is Naruto!" He growls.

"And I don't want to be here. Have fun Naruto." I start walking over towards Jiraya and Shizune. "How stupid is she? Just because she drags me outside she thinks I'm going to fight her?"

"Both at once it is." Aw crap. She's right behind me. "Tell you what kids. I'll give you a handicap. I'll only use one finger."

FLICK

I go careening down the street. I bounce off off the unforgiving ground and roll to a stop in a crumpled heap. All of that was from one finger. Wow, I really shouldn't have pissed her off. Why do I always end up pissing off people stronger than me? First was Kakashi, then Zabuza, then Orochimaru, and now Tsunade?

"Alas, I am slain." I blandly say from my awkward spot on the ground.

THUD

"Hey Naruto. She flick you too?"

"I think so? I might have a concussion."

I push myself up to my feet. "Can I go now or are you going to hit me again?"

"You can go if you want to." Tsunade allows. "If you don't want your headband back." She's idly twirling both my and Naruto's headbands on her fingers.

"Give it back!" Naruto roars.

"Whatever." I shrug and walk over to the other spectators as I extend out a chakra string.

Naruto rounds on me with disbelief on his face. "But she has our headbands!"

"Nah, she just has yours." Tsuande's eyes widen as my headband flies out of her grasp and as I use multiple chakra strings to tie it around my head again. "I'm done playing her game."

"Whoa! Talk about some serious control there!" Jiraya chimes in from the sidelines. "I had no idea he could do something like that."

"Squirt what was that?" Tsunade demands. "How did you do that?"

"Have fun Naruto." I ignore her as I stop right next to Jiraya and Shizune. "Maybe try your new move?" There, that should get him attempt the Rasengan and maybe Tsunade will make the same bet with him as cannon. If not then I'll have to get creative.

"Why the hell not? Maybe I'll get it this time." Naruto extends out his right arm and a blue ball of chakra starts to take shape. Interesting, he's not using a clone. "Rasengan!" He charges at the mildly surprised Tsunade.

"Never expected to see that again." She stabs the ground with her finger. A fissure splits the street in two beneath Naruto, and he falls into it. A horrible grinding noise fills the air and dust shoots out of the newly formed crevice, the Rasengan is grinding into the earth.

"Woah." I turn to Jiraya. "Is that what you've been teaching him?" The Rasengan is way more impressive in real life.

Tsunade whirls toward Jiraya. "How can you be so irresponsible! That jutsu is dangerous! You saw the damage it just did and he hasn't even mastered it fully yet!"

Jiraya looks ashamed, "He needs it. He needs a move that can end fights. Besides, it just feels right."

"Wow Lady! That was cool! How'd you split the street like that? Was that an earth jutsu?" Oh good, Naruto climbed out of the crevice.

"No. That was just my strength alone." Naruto gawks at Tsunade. "Tell you what kid, you've managed to mildly impress me. Let's make a bet. I bet that you won't be able to master that move in a week. If you do, I'll give you my necklace. If you don't then I get all of your money."

"Why would I want some stupid necklace?" Naruto condescendingly says. "I'm not some pretty princess, I'm a shinobi."

"This," Tsunade says while displaying the necklace and a ridiculous amount of cleavage that has Jiraya drooling, "is my grandfather's necklace. The first Hokage's necklace. It can buy three mountains easily."

Naruto stills. "Interesting. I accept."

"Good!" Tsunade says. She turns to me, "What about you squirt? Want make a bet? I can always use more money."

"I will make a bet with you. I want you to come back to Konoha to heal my sensei and teammate."

Tsunade looks surprised. "You don't want to bet me to become the Hokage?"

"No. I'm not here for that, I couldn't care less. I just want my team back. You're their only hope. Name your price, what do you want if I lose?"

Tsunade considers what she wants for a while. "If you lose, Shizune is going to train you."

"Sorry what?" I can't have heard that right.

"Shizune is going to train you. You'll accompany us, and basically be Shizune's minion. I've taught her practically everything I can, now all she has to do is teach someone else. It's perfect! This way I don't have to go back to Konoha to get another medic nin for her!"

"But I'm not... whatever. I accept."

"So Squirt, what are we betting on?" Tsunade has a mad gleam in her eye, one I don't approve of.

"I'll show you a medical case you've never seen before. One that maybe even you can't fix. Deal?"

"Deal! Oh man Shizune get ready to teach! Finding a medical case I've never seen before! Please, you practically guaranteed your loss. Tell ya what, I gave Naruto a week. Do you want one too?"

"Nope." Tsunade and Shizune tilt their heads in surprise. "In fact I'm ready now if you are. Unless you want a week to review all of your old cases. Memory is one of the things to go due to old age."

Am I taunting someone stronger than me again? No, I'm doing one better. I'm taunting my future boss. Perfect.

"Fine. Right now. Tell me the details." Oh boy Tsunade sounds mad.

"I'll do you one better, I have the patient. You can examine him yourself."

"Well? Where is he? I don't have all day. There's a bottle of sake in the bar with my name on it."

"Me. It's me. I'm the patient. I'm the case."

Here's my gamble, it is possible Tsunade has studied the Jiongu before, but she hasn't studied Orochimaru's version. I just need her to use the diagnostic jutsu on me then I win.

"Come on then. I've got a room upstairs, I'll examine you there." We all head inside the bar again. Tsunade grabs a bottle of sake and we make our way to her room.

"Alright squirt. Do you want everyone here for this?" Tsunade gestures towards Shizune, Jiraya and Naruto. "Your call. Shizune gets to stay, she's my assistant."

"They can stay. Naruto has seen it before and I've talked about my... condition with Jiraya before. Fair warning, this is not a pretty sight."

"Please squirt, you ain't got nothing I haven't seen before." I remove my sunglasses.

"Are those threads?" I hear Shizune ask.

"Yes, they are." I answer her.

"Please, a doujutsu? That's your big medical case?" Tsunade scoffs at me.

I remove my shirt.

"You've got a lot of scars, I'll give you that. Still nothing I haven't seen before. You need to dazzle me."

I turn around.

I hear sharp intakes of breath from three people. All but Naruto. He's the only one here that has seen my masks before.

"Those are stitched into your skin. What on earth inspired you to do something so stupid?" Tsunade demands.

"Necessity. I needed something to cover my hearts."

"Your what?"

"My hearts. Don't believe me? Run a scan on me, use the diagnostic jutsu. See for yourself."

Tsunade stomps over to me and her hands take on a green glow. She pales.

"Shizune. Run a scan on him. I need a second opinion."

Shizune walk up to me and her hands turn green as well. Her eyes widen in horror. "He has... four hearts."

"And?" Tsunade prompts.

"That's it. There are no other organs in his body. Just the hearts. How are you alive?"

"Those were my results too. Tell me Alvarcus, how are you alive? You should be dead."

"The Jiongu." That's all I say.

"Don't try and fool me!" Tsunade yells at me, "I know how the Jiongu works! This is not the Jiongu!"

"It's Orochimaru's enhanced version." Shizune and Tsunade fall still. "That's right, Orochimaru got his hands on a sample of the Jiongu. He made it parasitic. It doesn't enhance my organs like the original, it devoured and replaced them. All of them except my heart and skin."

I let them process the new information.

"So, do I win?"

With pity in her eyes, Tsunade says "Yeah squirt. You won. I'll save your team."

"Good! Then my business here is done." I put my shirt and sunglasses back on. "Can I stick around Jiraya? I want to see if Naruto wins his bet too."

"Yeah kid. Stay, go, do whatever. I don't care." Jiraya says quietly.

"Cool. Oh, by the way, I'm getting my own room. I'm tired of sharing with you and Naruto." I leave the room to go talk to the receptionist.

Faintly I can hear Tsunade say, "That poor child. To go through that and live. How did he get it? Why him?"

"He wouldn't tell me. But this isn't the first experiment of Orochimaru's he's been through. It's the second."

"Jiraya," I call over my shoulder, "if she wants to know she can ask me. Don't tell her anymore."

"You don't need to worry about him." Naruto says. "I haven't really known him for that long, but he's strong. He's a fighter. He doesn't quit. He's actually a lot like me now that I think about it."

The conversation dies off.

That Night

Turns out I am either extremely lucky or very unlucky. The room I got is right next to Tsunade and Shizune's. I'm okay with that, it isn't like they are loud or anything. What I am not okay with is the pitying looks they keep giving me.

Knock knock.

Someone is at my door. "Who is it?" I call out.

"Shizune. I wanted to talk to you." I get up and open the door.

"Come on in. Grab anything you like, drink, food, anything." I plop back down on the couch. For a cheap hotel this is a very nice couch.

"I'm fine, thanks." She sits down awkwardly across from me.

I sigh. "What do you want to know? Ask me already. I don't like playing the political game of dancing around each other for a half hour before we get down to business."

"Are you okay?" She asks genuinely.

"That's your question? Am I okay? Not how did you get the Jiongu, not what's your relationship with Orochimaru, not what am I doing here, just are you okay?"

"Yeah. Everyone always talks about what happened to them, but never talks about how they are themselves. So that's my question. I don't care how it happened. I don't care why it happened. I just want to make sure you are okay."

"I'm fine." She just stares at me unconvinced. "Okay, I am not fine. Not even remotely."

"Why? It's obvious something is wrong, but I don't think it is the Jiongu that's bothering you."

I snort at her in amusement. "You're a smart one. You're right, I've accepted the Jiongu. I don't have a single problem with it anymore, we have an understanding between us."

"You're deflecting." Damn it. She's good. "You are trying to get me to ask about the Jiongu. It won't work. Tsunade tries that all the time and she is much better at controlling herself than you are."

"That usually works. Most people jump at the chance to learn about it."

"Alvarcus." She says with a stern tone. "Quit dodging and tell me what's wrong."

I lower my head in defeat. "I've lost so much over these past few months. Almost everything."

Shizune moves closer to me and gently places her hand on my shoulder. "Let it out. I'll listen. I won't tell anyone."

"My family is dead. My parents. My unborn sibling. I'll never see them again. Never. Do you know what the last thing I said to them was? 'You'll never have to see me again.' I said that to my parents, I told them I was leaving. I didn't want to, it's just they reacted so badly to the Jiongu. And... Orochimaru did something to me while I was still with kaa-san, before she even knew she was pregnant. They told me that day, and they implied that I was like him. Like the person who scarred my body so badly. The person who experimented with my life twice. They tried to get me to stay, they tried to get me to listen but I wouldn't. I left. I didn't know that was the last time I would talk to them. I didn't know! They came to see me in the Chunin Exams final tournament. That's when the invasion happened. They came just to see me. They didn't even want me to be a shinobi, but they came anyways. Even if we weren't talking they were there for me. Then the invasion happened. I don't know how, but the genjutsu used to put the arena to sleep didn't affect them. They stayed awake and a Suna nin noticed them. He killed them. I watched as he cut off their heads. I watched my parents die. I couldn't save them, I couldn't protect them. That's the whole reason I became a shinobi, to protect my family. I failed. I failed them, I got them killed. It's all my fault my parents died. I just want to see them one more time. Just to say goodbye, just to let them know I still love them."

While spilling my guts out Shizune enveloped me in a hug. She just let me talk while slowly rubbing my back. How long has it been since someone has actually touched me like this? When was the last time someone hugged me?

"That's not even all of it. Sakura is dead too. My teammate, dead and desecrated. She was killed on purpose. I know it. She was given to me in a body scroll. I don't know why! Why did Sakura have to die? Why would she be killed! She never even did anything noteworthy! Sasuke and I did all of the fighting! He's the last Uchiha and I have a kinjutsu! Why would they target her? Why?" I sound so broken and defeated.

"I lost so much in five minutes. My entire life has changed. Where ever I go now all I see is pity. Either pity for my parents deaths, pity for Sakura, or pity for the Jiongu. No one just sees me anymore. Alvarcus doesn't exist, he started dying when Orochimaru shoved his fist into my gut and gave me the Jiongu and it only got worse. Now all that is left is me, a broken husk of who I used to be. I don't even look the same. I could walk right past my former self and he wouldn't even blink."

I grip Shizune tighter.

"Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke are both stuck in an unbreakable genjutsu. They are the only people I have left. Sasuke is like a brother to me, and Kakashi like a weird uncle." I chuckle a bit at that thought. Kakashi and uncle? Yeah right. "Tsunade is my only hope to save them. I don't even know if she can. I could be alone. I could have no one left to call mine. I don't want to be alone."

~The host is never alone.~

"Oh and get this! My best friend isn't even Sasuke. Its the damn Jiongu. It is the only one that actually understands me, the only one that knows my darkest secrets. It shares in my pain, it feels what I do. It talks to me, reassures me. Defends me, looks out for me. A thread parasite. The thing that ate my body. The thing inside me. How sad is that? It is the only one that will never leave me, the only one that will always be there. Till the day we die. And the worst part? I'm glad it's there now. I'm glad I got it, because no matter what I do it will remain. The one constant in my life. How pathetic."

I just sit there in Shizune's arms. She keeps holding me, never once faltering. Never judging. Just listening. The silence stretches on for minutes.

"Do you feel better now?" She asks me.

"You know, I think I do. Thank you for listening Shizune." I do feel better. It is like a weight has been lifted off my back, one that I had no idea was there. I just kept it bottled up inside, letting the pressure build and build until the glass container finally shattered.

"You're welcome. Sometimes all you need to do to feel better is let it out." We break our hug.

I wipe my face dry. I was crying on Shizune. How embarrassing.

"Hey Shizune? Can you not mention this to the others? I don't want them to know."

"I won't." She gets suddenly very serious. "Under one condition. You need to find a healthy outlet. Keeping things inside is not a good idea. Find a hobby, go out and make more friends, something. You can't go on like this forever, it's no way to live."

"I will. You know," I grin cheekily at her, "I could take after Tsunade."

"NO! You are to young to drink and even then it is a terrible outlet!"

I start laughing at her.

"Oh, you brat! Don't scare me like that!"

"Please, it was just too easy!" I calm myself down.

"Alright Alvarcus," Shizune says while standing up, "I've got to go back to Tsunade. Someone has to keep her in line."

"See ya, Shizune. Thanks again for listening." She waves over her shoulder at me.

That night was the first night in weeks that I didn't have a nightmare.