The Tale Of An Utterly Old Lady. [Jiraiya x OC]

Chapter 5 | The Air In Konoha Smells Different

Chapter 5 | The Air In Konoha Smells Different

It took us a week and a half to reach Konoha, and it was already late afternoon when the village came into view.

The familiar A-un gates of Konohagakure no Sato stood before me, and I stared at them in awe. It was a sight that used to only exist inside a screen—animated—and now that it was right there for my eyes to see, the fact that I was in the Naruto world truly hit me. Of course, seeing Jiraiya's face shook me too, but there was something so much more impactful about seeing the village of Konoha itself.

By the gates were guards wearing green flak jackets—the design was slightly different from what I was familiar with in the original story, but I figured it was simply because what the guards wore of this time were from an older version. Jiraiya and I approached the two guards; when they caught sight of Jiraiya, they both smiled.

"Look who came right back!" exclaimed the guy on the right. He was a man with black hair that went down to his shoulders; he looked to be around his late twenties, and he was slightly shorter than Jiraiya. He seemed to be on friendly terms with the future Sannin. "I thought you had a journey to do, Jiraiya?"

"Yeah, why are you back so soon, Jiraiya-kun?" The other man was closer to my height. He had spiky, dark-green hair, and he wore his hitai-ate around his arm. He looked closer to our age, and he spoke with a softer voice.

"Well...as you can see..." Jiraiya's lips tugged into a thin line, glancing over at me, and I raised and waved my hand while grinning at the two guards.

"Who's that?" The black-haired man blinked, staring at me.

"Hello there! My name is Elena. Nice to meet you," I greeted them jovially.

"She's just—"

"We're going to get married!" I announced, my voice cheery and Jiraiya gave me a dirty look for interrupting him. In return, I winked at him.

"EHHH?!" The two men exclaimed in perfect unison, their mouths agape and eyes wide from shock. After dedicating a moment for their minds to comprehend what I'd just announced, the green-haired guy finally spoke up, "I-Is that true, Jiraiya-kun?"

"Well...that's pretty much it, I guess."

"Eh...? There's no way..." The black-haired guy muttered, staring at me, still shocked.

"C-Congratulations?" The green-haired guy smiled, though a drop of sweat appeared on his cheek, indicating his confusion.

"Thanks!" I replied.

"Enough about that, can we get in?" Jiraiya asked them, and they stepped aside, though the confusion still hadn't left their faces. I followed Jiraiya into the village, looking back at the two guards to wave them goodbye, before looking forward once again.

"Hey Jiraiya," he looked over at me when I called him, "Didn't they need to check or something and make sure we weren't intruders and stuff...?"

"Iwaku is a sensory ninja," he answered, turning his head to look forward as we walked. "He's familiar with my chakra."

"Iwaku...?"

"The guy with green hair."

"Oh!"

Now that makes sense.