Chapter Text
Jiraiya hopped from one tree to another, eyes focused as he headed towards his destination. He could already smell the smoke floating in the distance.
He didn't think much of it when his Sensei summoned him so suddenly for this particular mission, but upon being mentioned that it involves the Namikaze clan, he knew he cannot mess up, even if it's just a simple scouting mission.
”We’ve received word that our enemies have found their location, and have already sent their troops to annihilate them.” Hiruzen sighed, “based on my calculations, even if we try to send our fastest ninjas to their location as reinforcements, it would still be too late to save everyone.”
When Jiraiya eventually arrived at the little spot the clan had called home for centuries, annihilation would be an understatement. There was blood everywhere, weapons and bodies littered on the ground. It almost looked like a massacre if anything.
”So your job is to scout the area, and to try and find any possible survivors there. Although chances are low, we ought to give it a try.”
“Well, this will require quite a clean up…” Jiraiya muttered as he scanned the place, which is nothing short of the colour red. He decided to up his sensory a bit, to hopefully pick up a weak signature or two, as he walked in further into the settlement.
Even if he had some prior experience with this kind of stuff, it still doesn't make it less painful to see the many houses destroyed or burnt to the ground, the children caught in the crossfire. It invoked anger into him, knowing those bastards didn't spare the little ones.
And then a single, weak signature knocked him out of his thoughts. It was very weak, but alive. It took him a while to determine where it came from, but at least he was on the right track now. Though, it was quite impressive that someone managed to survive the massacre.
Perhaps it's a good thing that whoever this is knows how to keep their presence faint, even an experienced sensory ninja could miss their chakra if they didn't squint hard enough. Jiraiya is by no means the best sensory ninja around, but had he not paid much attention, he would've also missed the faint presence.
A little more walking led to what seemed to be a residence for the clan head. ”oh boy…” Jiraiya thought to himself as he slowly entered the building, careful not to make much noise as to accidentally startle the only survivor he managed to find.
There are bodies of some of the supposedly perpetrators in the building, in fact there's quite a bit of them in here. The smell of iron is much heavier here than outside, unsurprisingly. The clan heads must’ve put up quite the fight then. Jiraiya decides that he doesn't want to mess with them, for now.
He, in fact, doesn't have to mess with the clan heads of the Namikazes, because they are unfortunately dead as well. The sole survivor is instead a little child, who looked like they're around 7 years old. He dared not to assume their gender just yet, it's quite hard to tell whether they're a boy or a girl in the distance due to the long hair.
The child doesn't seem to move an inch, just sitting near the dead bodies of his parents (probably), they would've been mistaken as dead if Jiraiya didn't sense the faint chakra coming from them. That, and also the fact that they're sobbing slightly.
Yikes… what sight the poor child must’ve seen that night.
Jiraiya carefully and slowly approached the child and they seemed to notice him after a while, because even though he tried his best to be sneaky, the child still looked his way. The way their eyes barely reflect any light just showed how the massacre destroyed the poor kid.
The child, however, didn't seem to make a move, they just kept looking at Jiraiya. ”They must’ve been exhausted…” Jiraiya thought as he had a little staring contest with the child, ”that probably explains why his chakra felt so weak.”
He's never the best kind of person to talk to a child, Tsunade is a better option for that, despite how scary looking she is. But he has to try his best anyway, this child needs help and if Jiraiya left him here, they’ll most likely die.
Jiraiya knelt down to be on the same level as the child, “hey there.” He whispered, with a tone as gentle as he could manage. “Do you… want to come with me? Oh no, don't worry!” He raised his hands up slightly as the child’s eye dilated almost immediately from panic. “I won't hurt you, and I’m not one of them. I’m here to save you, little one.”
The child looked at him for a while, before looking back on the dead bodies next to him. “...I don't need your help,” the child whispered, though it's hard to tell whether it's from anger or something else. “Just… leave me alone.”
Before the child could say anything, Jiraiya sighed and proceeded to lift the child and carried him on his back. He’s not about to give a child therapy right now, there's a fat chance the perpetrators might come back for a second wave, and he's not about to fight a battalion on his own.
“Wha- What are you doing?! Put me back down!” The child protested, but lacked the strength to actually free himself from the man’s grasp.
“No,” Jiraiya answered simply. “You're quite hard to track down, and I’m not about to leave a survivor here to die.” He then walked out of the building with the child still on his back (he basically gave em a piggy back ride) and headed out.
“...just leave me to die, I don't… deserve to be saved,” the child replied, still not doing anything to resist physically, all they could do is basically plead to Jiraiya to put them back, and unfortunately for the kid, Jiraiya’s not having it.
He's already jumping from one tree branch to another, on his way back to Konoha. After a while of silence between them, only disturbed by the rustling of leaves above and the chirping of birds, Jiraiya asked the child. “Why do you think so?” Frankly, he doesn't know much about the child, or the Namikaze clan. He was just informed that the Namikaze clan are apparently important people and survivors would be equivalent to miracles.
The child took a while to answer his question, “...I saw it happen, the attack.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“No… as in, I saw it happen before.”
Jiraiya paused, “...what do you mean?”
“I… had visions about it before. It all happened the same way my visions showed me and I… couldn't do anything…”
Ah, so that explained why the kid is suicidal for some reason. And also why the Namikazes are really important apparently. He wanted to question the kid more about their clan, but that'll wait for later.
“I doubt a child your age could do anything to prevent an attack of that scale, to be honest. You’ll probably have a chance if you're older, but still.”
“I could've done a lot more… I could’ve saved everyone if I tried hard enough. But instead…”
“And that's why you thought you deserved to die? Because you ‘failed’?”
A bit more silence ensued, and Jiraiya assumed that meant yes. He sighed. “Look, mate, from my perspective, I think it’d be a waste if you die now.” He looked back at the child, “although you're still young, I’m sure you’ve made a lot of good memories with your family and some others, don't you?”
“I…”
He then smiled gently at the child, “then live on, so that those memories don't die, and that whatever sacrifices made to protect you weren't done in vain.”
The child was quiet for a while, before they spoke again. “...why do you want to help me so much? You barely know me.”
Jiraiya chuckled as he looked away, “well, I had a friend once, with another girl, and we were together through thick and thin. Unfortunately something transpired and he left us and our village, I’m… not too informed of the details yet.”
The child seemed to frown in sympathy.
“So, I wanted to find a way to bring him back, even if I had to break his legs or something, I’ll do whatever it takes to drag him back to our village.”
“...you wouldn't want to actually do that, would you?”
Jiraiya laughed, “no, he’s so slippery that he’ll most likely get away even with broken legs.”
“You probably don't have the heart to do that anyways.”
A child at this age already knowing how to read people? Colour him impressed, “well, that too. How did you know?”
“You didn't break mine when you wanted to save me.”
“God forbids me to break a child’s legs, my Sensei and friend would absolutely murder me for doing that. And you're right, I wouldn’t have the heart to actually do that as well.”
For the first time since their awkward little interaction, the child chuckled, kind of faint but he picked up on it nonetheless.
It wasn't until Konoha was in sight that they spoke again, “is that your village, Mister?”
“It is, and you can just call me Jiraiya, little guy.”
Maybe he's not as bad as he thought he was when it comes to talking to children, because the kid’s eyes lightened up a bit more, at least they doesn't look as suicidal as they did earlier.
“Thanks for saving me then, Jiraiya-san.” The child said.
“You're welcome, and don't worry, the people in my village are nice… most of them anyway. But I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you while I’m around.”
They hummed in response, seemingly starting to doze off.
“Go get some rest, mate.” Jiraiya said, smiling at him, “we’ll take care of other things once you wake up. You need some sleep anyway.”
Jiraiya didn't need to say more as the child nodded and fell asleep on his shoulder.
“So there are survivors there?” Hiruzen asked, almost astonished as he saw Jiraiya return with a child on his back.
“I could only find one, unfortunately. And they're…” he looked back at the sleeping kid, and Hiruzen frowned.
“Well, it's unfortunate that things transpired this way, but I guess this is fate. If you don't mind, can I trouble you into taking care of the kid for a while?”
Jiraiya stared at him, mouth agape. “Are you serious?”
“Well, I couldn't ask for anyone else. I’m busy as the Hokage and Tsunade is dealing with a crap ton of patients everyday. I don't think I have to explicitly tell you what happens if she's pissed, right?”
“...yeah, you don't have to. But still, is it really a good idea to leave them with me? I mean, you know I’m not the best person to be put in the same space as a literal child, right?”
“That's true, but the kid seemed to feel safer around you. There's a chance that if we leave the child to someone else, the reaction… might not be pleasant. Until I can arrange something better, you’re basically stuck with the kid for a bit.”
“... you're not gonna give me any other choice, are you, old man?”
Judging by the slight smug on his face, he wasn't. And Jiraiya decided that he’ll maybe write some more, he’ll need some inspiration though.
(A/n: relatable on the inspiration part, but not the subject you need for said inspiration)
On second thought, he’ll do that later, he needed to deal with the kid first. Speaking of which, he never asked them for their name. Maybe he’ll do that once they wake up.
“Fine, I’ll help take care of the kid for the time being.” Jiraiya sighed, “but you're gonna have to provide the things this kid will need. My job simply doesn't pay me enough to afford nearly the amount they’ll need.”
“That can be arranged.” Hiruzen nodded.
Jiraiya smiled at the knowledge that he doesn't have to break his bank account for a kid he just met and saved. He needed the funds for his own needs as well, okay?