In a Softer Light

A/N : Yes, Naruto is genderbent for the purpose of this story. Yes, the main pairing is Naruto x Jiraiya. Yes, some of it transpires while Naruto is underage. ( I do believe this is allowed since they make tags/warning for it specifically) YES Naruto is bisexual for the purpose of this story (still has a massive crush on Sakura, etc) and yes, the /preg/ tag is there for a reason.

 

If for any reason you find any of this offensive then leave now. It's not going to get any better. If you're like me and enjoy taboos being exploited in fiction, then sit down, have a drink, it's gonna be a long fucking ride. : D

This is only the intro. It's short for a reason.

 

Enjoy.

 

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Trouble.

 

Danger, bothersome hell, obstructive, obtuse, if you wanted to get into it, there's hundreds of words for it.

 

But trouble fit the little nymph just fine. It summed her up in one word and didn't even begin to paint her picture entirely.

 

It's the word her academy instructor used, her squad jounin used. Both her teammates- girlcrush and rival alike- used it intermixed with obnoxious, dobe, annoying, perverted, prankster, the list went on.

 

But “trouble” was burned into Jiraiya's memory because it's the precise word Tsunade gave when he suggested he take over her training from therein.

 

“Let me get this straight” she looms over him – an impressive feat given her height difference- permanent scowl etched deep into the lines of her lips “You, an infamous, drunken, aging pervert, want to take a thirteen year old girl under your wing for the next three years, while traveling the country. ALONE.”

 

Jiraiya doesn't answer because there isn't a right answer. At least, not when she used THAT voice there wasn't. He sits perfectly still with the straightest face he can muster, because wither amused or scared shitless he feels SOME sort of expression creeping over his face, and he's close enough to having a fist in said face as it is.

 

He clears his throat. “Forgive me for being so blunt, but it's not as if her former teacher was doing a bang up job.”

 

“Hatake's a professional. ” she cuts him short. “I wouldn't even begin to suspect him of doing things to Naruto that I may as well blame you for already, given you've already had numerous “training” sessions.

 

Okay. THAT hit a nerve. He grits his teeth, reminding himself of his proximity to an angry Tsunade. So he liked women. He drank. He wrote smut for a living. That doesn't mean he can't be a professional when need be. That and Kakashi was piss poor teacher if he'd ever seen one, focusing all of his attention on his problem gennin and leaving Naruto and Sakura to fend for themselves.

 

“You can check my records Tsunade. “ He blows out a breath. “I've had several gennin teams under me, not including the orphans I took care of in Rain. There's not ONE account of me taking advantage of any of my students.”

 

“Let me remind you-” and warning bells are going off in his head as angry Tsunade is quickly becoming pissed Tsunade “-of a Chuunin named Mitarashi Ank-”

 

 

“She was NOT my student, I headed a makeshift chuunin squad as their jounin ONCE, and this was two months AFTER the mission we were sent on.” Jiraiya leans forward, leveling his face with hers.

 

“Look Tsunade, Naruto might be a girl, and I MIGHT have a bad history with these kinda things, but, “

 

He exhales sharply. “She's Minato's daughter. I'm not going to touch her. Ever.”

 

 

Her expression remains stoic, but he knows he's gotten to her, because the venomous gleam in her eyes is gone. She sighs, exasperated, before procuring a scroll from the inner reaches of her desk, unfurling it, and thrusting it into his face.

 

 

“It's an extended leave contract. ” she looks away, skin flushed, a mixture of defeat and embarrassment in her voice. “Sign it. In blood. You can go. Both of you.”

 

 

A grin crinkles at the corners of his mouth.

 

 

“Yes m'am. “