"Okay, so I'm never going to piss her off." Sachihiro boldly breaks the silence.
"Smart boy." I chirp back with a hint of victory laced in my tone. I feel much better now. So what my friends are mere meters away? So what that both of my Kage are talking to each other? So what Kakashi is around here somewhere? So what that Danzo is probably planning his revenge as we speak? Just enjoy the little things, like petty meaningless revenge.
Okay so I'm totally fucked. I know that.
Right now the best situation is going back to Sound with Orochimaru. Isn't that a depressing thought? Going back to the tyrannical mad scientist who has a father fetish is the best case scenario.
"Did you have to hit all three rocks?" Sasuke conversationally asks. "Isn't that just a little bit of overkill?"
"That was the idea." I merrily chirp back to him. "Some people need to have the lesson beaten into their heads to learn it. Sometimes repeatedly."
"... That wasn't his head." Noboru hesitantly cuts in. He's regarding me in a whole knew light, again. First I was a potential buddy, then someone to tease, now I'm someone to not mess with. Finally! Couldn't he learn this earlier? It would have made things so much easier.
"Wasn't it?" I offer up an innocent shrug.
Noboru turns to Sasuke with pity in his eyes. "Dude I am so sorry she's your teammate. That's got to be hell."
"Not really." It's Sasuke's turn to shrug. "I'm smart enough to not piss her off intentionally. Believe me when I say that was nothing. The things she does when she's truly mad, now that's when you need to run."
Color drains form Noboru's face as his wide eyes dart back to me for a fleeting moment.
"Today's second match is between Kiba Inuzuka of Konohagakure!" Eito's booming voice cuts through all other noise and abruptly halts our conversation. Talk about convenient timing, I was getting bored of that topic. "His opponent is Red of Otogakure!"
"Hell yeah!" Kiba leaps to his feet with Akamaru perched on his head. "Finally I get to show my stuff! You better not turn out like that other guy did Red!" Kiba, in good nature, points at Sasuke. "Please say you're better than him?"
"I did get here by my own skills, not someone else's." Sasuke blandly replies.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Leiko twitch. Interesting, before she gave off the idea that she's fed up with her brother and tired of holding his hand through everything. It was almost like she's given up on him. But she hasn't stopped caring for him. He is still her brother, they're family after all. It's only natural to come to your family's defense, but Leiko isn't standing up for him. Perhaps she's decided to wear a mask of indifference when it comes to her sibling so the other contestants don't try to use him against her? Sure we couldn't physically attack Yuri but we could certainly belittle him to her during a match. Psychological warfare can win battles, it could potentially knock her off of her game.
Hence, she's tolerating the slander aimed at her own flesh and blood to remove a weapon that could be wielded against her. It's smart, but it takes a great deal of focus and control. Once you show a pressure point you won't be able to hide it again.
"Good luck Kiba!" Hinata encourages her team mate and the last Konoha shinobi in the tournament.
"Make sure to win this one!" Lee happily says with way too much enthusiasm. "Display the power of your youth!"
"Bring Konoha honor." Neji respectfully says, even when he's around friends he can't help being formal on occasion.
"Good luck." Shino quietly, but firmly, says to his teammate.
"You better win this whole thing!" Tenten demands. "Gotta make the rest of us look good! We're counting on you!"
Kiba lets out a warm laugh. "That is the idea everyone! Come on Akamaru, let's go win this!"
He rushes out to the field and stands by Eito. He's revving to go, eager to start a battle and show of his skills to the fixated crowd. He looks like he's loving the attention.
Sasuke rises up in silence and walks out to the field while oozing confidence.
"Red." I call after him, causing him to stop halfway there. "Perhaps don't use genjutsu this time? Sure some shinobi know it's impressive, but to everyone else it's boring. No one wants to watch a intense stare down between two adolescent guys."
Sasuke scoffs and starts walking to his opponent again.
"Speak for yourself." Tenten mutters to herself, but thanks to my enhanced hearing I can hear it as if she's talking at a normal volume. "Having two hunks of meat stare each other down to try and win your favor? Mmmm... me like! Hehehe! Boys there's no need to fight, there's plenty of me to go around. You can be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while the other can be Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. What about Sundays? Well a girl has to have some me time!"
"Tenten!" Neji's stern voice brings his teammate back to reality.
"Oh." Tenten sheepishly looks at all of the Konoha gennin. They're all staring at her with wide eyes and slack jaws. "Whoops? Was all that out loud?"
"Yes!" Neji hisses out. "You have got to stop doing that!"
Tenten's eyes glaze over. "But it's just so dreamy..."
"Fighters ready?" Eito's loud voice reminds us all where we are and what we should be doing.
"You betcha!" Kiba eagerly shouts with an accompanying yip from his loyal companion Akamaru.
"I am ready." Sasuke quietly says, but his voice carries an immense amount of self confidence.
I don't blame him for that. He definitely has the upper hand in this situation, he already knows the basics to Kiba's fighting style. Not to mention the whole Sharingan and being trained by Orochimaru. I hate to say it, but Kiba has already lost this fight.
"Begin!" Eito vanishes in a swirl of blades of grass.
Kiba vs Sasuke
Eerily reminiscent of my fight against Hiro, neither Kiba, Akamaru, nor Sasuke move as Eito puts distance between himself and the contestants.
"So..." Kiba opens up with a wide playful grin. "Want to make a bet like the last fight?"
Is this going to become a thing? I hope not, I have no idea what Gaara might ask for in the final round.
"What do you wish to bet on?" Sasuke humors his former friend. Besides, this way it will be a better show for the crowd if more than just a victory is riding on this fight.
"When I win I want your mask." Kiba's reply is instant, there wasn't a second to consider it. This wasn't a spur of the moment thing, he's been planning this. What is he getting at? Does he want to see Red's face?
"Why?" Sasuke growls out. "This mask is something I treasure. It means more to me than any kunai, more than my sword, more than any shinobi tool you could imagine. This is the one thing given to me by Orochimaru-sama. You dare to ask me to give it away?"
"I do." Kiba isn't phased by Sasuke's scathing tone, in fact it looks like he expected that result.
"I'll ask again." There's an edge to Sasuke's tone, it's past a warning. It's a promise of a beating if he doesn't like what he hears. "Why do you want my mask?"
"The Byakugan can't see through it." Kiba offers up with a halfhearted shrug. "I plan on giving it to Hinata to bring back to her clan for them to study and find a way around it."
"... You're asking me to give up my most prized possession to impress a girl?" Disbelief and shock. That's the only way to describe Sasuke right now. "For a girl?!"
"Uh... Yes?" Kiba squeaks out with a tinge of red on his cheeks, and I'm not talking about his clan markings. "Come on man! It's just a mask!"
"Then I want your dog." Sasuke demands in the next moment.
"WHAT?!" Kiba roars and Akamaru growls in anger at Sasuke.
"You heard me." Sasuke isn't phased by the sudden pressure of the combined killing intent of Kiba and Akamaru. "You are asking me to bet my mask, my most prized possession. It's only fair that you do the same." Sasuke levels a cold, hard, stare at Kiba. "I. Want. Your. Dog."
The watching crowd is silent, everyone is riveted to this show. No one wants to tear their eyes away from the drama that is unfolding before them.
"Never." Kiba's killing intent spikes higher, but compared to the others that Sasuke and I have been exposed to this is little more than a breeze. My stunt during the first task was way more impressive. Kiba's could barely pause another gennin, but to be able to actually direct killing intent at his age is impressive. Usually it is a chunin level skill, killing intent is the byproduct of battles. It takes time to learn how to even use a tiny bit of it. That Kiba can use this much speaks volumes about his skills.
I'm an exception to that rule. Since I've constantly been exposed to killing intent at a Sannin's level I've quickly learned how to harness it for myself. Plus it helps that I actually do want to kill Orochimaru and that I've... maybe sorta already went on a few bloodlust fueled rampages. So really you can't compare other gennin to me. It'd be like comparing a stream to a river. Sure they're both made of water, but they're in different leagues.
"I will never give away Akamaru." Kiba growls while turning more feral as each second ticks away.
"Then the bet is off." Sasuke says while firmly griping his sword.
"Yes. It is." Kiba falls into the Inuzuka Clan's taijutsu stance. He's bent over, ready to spring at his opponent at a drop of a needle or even fall down to all fours to utilize one of his stronger jutsus. "Then I'll just have to take your mask for myself!"
"Really now?" Sasuke's tone is frigid. Ice is more warm and welcoming.
"Come on Akamaru!" Kiba drops down onto all fours. "Fang Over Fang!"
Both Kiba and his loyal companion become twisting tornadoes, but instead of being made of wind it's made of claws and fangs. It's twin drills soaring through the air with every intent of ripping Sasuke to shreds. Kiba is taking this very seriously to be opening with one of his stronger attacks.
"Then you won't mind if I follow that same logic?" Sasuke's words are accompanied by one of the most vile and repulsive sounds in the world.
"Kukukuku!" Orochimaru is enjoying this.
As the two twisting drills near Sasuke, he does something that looks suicidal. He steps towards one of the drills, placing himself closer to it and in harms way.
Looks can be deceiving, because Sasuke isn't in any danger at all. He subtly spins his sword so that the dull side is facing outward and delivers one extremely quick slash.
CRACK
The drill that he slashed veers off course and rips into the earth, tearing up a long line of soil, before slamming into a tree.
The second drill continues to surge straight at Sasuke's unprotected back, it's eager to score what looks like a very serious hit. The drill doesn't meet flesh, instead it meets unforgiving steel. Sasuke used the momentum of his first swing to help spin around and place his blade protectively between him and the danger.
For three seconds the two forces fight. The twisting and tearing drill versus the resolute steel. Sasuke wins, not because his sword is unbreakable but rather that the drill couldn't sustain the needed rotation. Once the blur becomes clear again, we see Kiba emerge with fury on his face.
That means the one that Sasuke hit with his sword is Akamaru.
"You hurt Akamaru." Kiba accuses with malice marring his face.
"Yes." Sasuke simply replies. "And now I'm going to claim my prize."
Sasuke disappears in a swirl of grass. He must have copied Eito's style of shunshin.
"Wait what?" Kiba can't comprehend what just happened. "What prize?"
Sasuke re-appears by a tree. Not just any tree, there's a brilliant patch of white underneath the canopy. It looks like someone bleached some of the grass, but there's one thing that counteracts that hypothesis. The white grass is rising and falling, it's breathing. It's Akamaru.
Sasuke's slash was so quick a precise that he managed to land a knock out blow on the spinning dog. That was only the start of Akamaru's problems, just because he was knocked out doesn't mean that he lost any of his momentum from his Fang Over Fang. He kept moving at crazy speeds and slammed into this tree. He probably needs some serious medical attention after that.
"Hmm." Sasuke eyes the prone dog. No, he's not a dog yet. He's still a puppy. "Doesn't seem worth it now."
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Kiba roars in beastly fury as he moves so fast he's a blur. He stops above Akamaru, one foot protectively on either side of his best friend. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kiba has a kunai in his right hand and makes use of it. He slashes at Sasuke with every intention of spilling his guts all over the ground.
Sasuke lazily takes a step back. He's belittling Kiba with the ease of his actions. He's not taking Kiba as a threat at all.
"I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!"
"Keep the mutt." Sasuke spits out. "If it can't even take that hit then it's useless to me."
Kiba's fury soars to new heights. His limbs are trembling with rage, he's no longer a shinobi. Now he's a wild beast. A raging untamed wolf that's decided Sasuke is his prey. "I'm going to kill you."
Kiba doesn't roar those words. They're spoken at a normal volume, but the weight of them is much heavier than when he was shouting. This isn't an idle threat, it's a promise. Kiba has every intention of following through with his words.
Sasuke eagerly flicks his sword, cleaning off the minute amount of dust and fur that has settled on it. "Then come and attack me!"
With a mighty bellow Kiba sprints at Sasuke. He's forgoing all techniques, he's even abandoning planning. He's just a beserker right now.
That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. His fingertips are sharp and pointed. His canines elongated. Over all he looks more animalistic, more primal. With this physical change comes more strength. His blows leave rents in the ground and dents in the trees. But they don't once connect with his target.
Even with this beserker power up he still can't land a blow on Sasuke who just dances out of the way.
"Is this all the Inuzuka Clan can offer?" Sasuke taunts. "I expected more."
Sasuke's last comment pushes Kiba further into his fury fueled beserker rage. All traces of logic are gone, he's running purely on instinct and the desire to kill.
"RAAAGH!" Kiba's roar is loud and long, deafening all other noise. He lunges at Sasuke and swings wide to rake his claws across the crimson mask.
He's wide open.
CRACK
Sasuke's blade slashes through the air once more and solidly connects with Kiba's temple, instantly forcing him into unconsciousness.
Within the same instant Eito is standing behind Sasuke, who is looking down at the unconscious Kiba.
"Well then." Eito's voice doesn't startle Sasuke. "That's the end."
"It is." Sasuke idly agrees with the proctor. "It's a shame. I thought he would last longer. He gave in to his rage so quickly and it turned the fight into a beating."
Eito gives Sasuke a quick once over. "You Oto shinobi are kinda assholes, aren't you?"
"Better not let Midori hear you say that. She's been playing nice the entire time." Sasuke shrugs. "You could say that. We're just used to a higher threshold of combat. In our training dirty tricks are encouraged. We are taught that there is only one true rule to shinobi combat: Do not fight fair. There is no tactic that is off limits, even in our sparring the only things that are forbidden are lethal attacks. Anything else goes."
"Well..." Eito turns his gaze onto the prone Konoha shinobi and his furry companion. "I can't deny that it works."
Then Eito turns to the crowd and yells, "Winner: Red of Otogakure!"
The crowd doesn't clap. It doesn't cheer. There's only hushed whispers. They didn't like how that fight went. They didn't like that Sasuke manipulated his opponent into a beserker state and coldly defeated him like it was child's play.
They don't like Sasuke at all.
"Your teammate is a dick." Kankuro loudly says to me from across the gazebo as Sasuke and Eito are talking over the downed Konoha shinobi.
"Well you're not wrong. Some would say he's a dick, while others would say he's efficient." Okay, I've lost everyone. No one quite understands what I meant by that if all of their blank looks are anything to judge by.
"Why do I have to explain everything?" I whine to myself. "Okay, so what he did was mean."
"More like deplorable." Temari mutters and she gets a few nods in agreement.
"Like I was saying." I cut her off from continuing. "What Red did was mean, rude and underhanded. I know that, he knows that, hell everyone knows that. But what he did was exactly what would have happened in the real world."
"What the hell are you going on about now?" Tenten yells from her seat. Her and the rest of the Konoha shinobi present are much more unfriendly towards me right now. I didn't think it was possible, but with Sasuke's abuse of Akamaru we've made them hate us more.
"Simple really, one of the tried and true strategies of shinobi warfare is to remove the opposition's best weapon. Since Kiba is an Inuzuka, his best weapon is his partner. Not only did it make it a one on one fight but it drastically lowered Kiba's threat level." I'm getting blank looks again. "Oh my Kami how do you people not know these things?! To use his higher level jutsu he needs his partner! Red cut his usable jutsu in half, and the half Kiba was left with was his weaker half! The Inuzuka work in pairs for a reason, it makes them better!"
"These Exams and this Tournament are meant to showcase shinobi skills, it's the whole reason we're here. So far, Red has shown that he's the best shinobi here. He's manipulative, he's skillful, and he hasn't revealed anything about his skills. Think about it, we're shinobi. We live in the shadows, we thrive in secrecy, we excel at trickery and misdirection. Look at everyone else whose here."
I turn to Noboru. "Noboru of Iwa, you're an up and coming seal user of notable skill. That means that seals are your bread and butter, to beat you one has to either wait till you've exhausted all of your seals or avoid them and defeat you from long range. Sorry, but nothing else about you is worrisome or noteworthy."
I gesture at the still bound Hiro. "Hiro of Taki. Wielder of the Jiongu, Earth Grudge Fear. Let's you take in organs of others to enhance yourself, but once the heart is destroyed his battle prowess is drastically lowered. Either stab out his heart, or stab the mask/head of his monster thingies." I'm purposefully leaving the explanation about the Jiongu vague, after all there's no need to further expose my own weaknesses.
I point at Lee next. "Lee of Konoha. Taijutsu specialist, uses the Eight Inner Gates to enhance his combat efficiency. His whole combat style is meant to cause massive blunt damage, meant to break bones and crack skulls. Can not use ninjutsu or genjutsu, and thus is exceptionally weak to genjutsu. It's advisable to use that against him to end the fight quickly or get ready for a beating."
I turn to Hinata. "Hinata of Konoha. Has the Byakugan, which renders hiding almost impossible. Best method is to whittle down her energy using long range attacks, whether jutsu or weapons depends on the users own skills. Under no circumstances should one engage in close combat with her, the Gentle Fist can end the fight in one hit." I subtly tap the back of my head and Hinata's and Neji's faces both drain of color. I let them know that I am aware of the Byakugan's blind spot.
I point out to the field where Tsunade is looking over Kiba. "Kiba and Akamaru of Konoha. Again, another taijutsu type. Relies on his partner for stronger attacks, best way to defeat the pair is to remove the weaker one first, whether it is the dog or the man depends on each unique pair. That will limit the other and could potentially make them abandon logic."
I gesture to the last Konoha shinobi in the tournament. "Shino of Konoha. Uses beetles as his main form of combat. He is exceptionally weak to fire ninjutsu, and under the correct conditions lightning. Best method to win is to use wide area of effect ninjutsu to lower his swarms. He excels against those with a small chakra supply and does well in prolonged fights since his beetles eat chakra."
"Tenten of Konohagakure." Everyone is shocked that I'm going to someone not in the tournament next. "Weapons Mistress. She's damn good at long range and lethal at close. Her major weaknesses are any kind of skill -jutsu or other- that can knock her weapons out of the air or limit her maneuverability. Wind and Earth jutsu are good ways to counter her, or just pure speed."
"Neji of Konoha. Another Byakugan wielder, same thing applies as Hinata but he's more dangerous. He's hailed as a prodigy, one that appears in only a few generations."
"Gaara of Suna. Arguably the most dangerous one here. Jinchuriki of the One Tails, and has command over sand and is rumored to have an automatic defense, some call it an ultimate shield. His weaknesses are genjutsu and water. Genjutsu is notably hard for jinchuriki to detect, but not impossible so don't rely on it to win you the fight. Water won't win you the fight either, it will slow his sand down and make it more cumbersome. Lightning and it's natural piercing attribute is effective to get past any barrier of sand he has in place, but again it can only do so much. Don't bother to try and remove his sand or to make him chase you to another battlefield, he can make more sand wherever he is. Save your energy, you're going to need it."
"Temari of Suna. Already one of the better Wind users that Suna has to offer, uses her giant fan to enhance each jutsu's effectiveness. Best way to beat her is to attack from below ground where there is no wind to use or to remove her fan. That last one won't win you the battle, but it will make it easier."
"Kankuro of Suna. Puppet master and poison specialist. He's crafty, most consider him the weakest of the Sand Siblings-"
"Hey!"
"-but in reality that is his greatest strength. If everyone sees him as weaker, then it's that much easier for him to use one of his numerous puppets to poison you. Unfortunately he relies on said puppets too much and his own skills are slightly below average, so the best way to beat him is to sever his connection to the puppets and use long range to avoid his poisons."
"Sachihiro of Kiri. Uses a huge sword and has a fighting style that incorporates his wind nature to make him more deadly and give him ranged attacks. Similarly to most taijutsu types he's weak to genjutsu. Focusing on the body so much means that his awareness of his chakra is lower than a ninjutsu or a genjutsu type shinobi. To beat him, either outlast his stamina since using his massive sword tires him out quickly or simply send in clone after clone to use up his energy. Special note: Modeled his sword after Kubikiribocho, one of the Seven Legendary Swords of Kiri. Is possibly being scouted for a new version of the Seven Swordsmen or trying to prove his worth by showing that he could use one of the Legendary swords should it ever be recovered."
"Leiko of Kusa. The person I have the least information on. She's a poison specialist, and should already be a chunin for all intents and purposes. Relies heavily on her poisons to win her fights, her taijutsu is lackluster at best but her use of kunai and other shinobi tools is exceptional. Always assume that her weapons are poisoned and dodge -not block- her attacks. Likes to use pellets to make poison gas clouds and can apparently tailor them to each opponent if given the time. Best way to beat her is to end the fight quickly by any means necessary so she can't use her poisons. The longer the fight goes on the more time she has to get a poison into your system, then it's game over. She likes to boast, so if you find her monologuing and need a breather it is okay to let her talk."
"Earlier, Leiko gave her estimate of my skills. You all remember that, yes?" I get a fair number of nods agreeing with me. "What about Red? What do you know of him and his skills?"
"He uses his sword and genjutsu." Temari says confidently.
No one else says anything.
"That's it?" My voice breaks the silence again. "Anyone could tell he uses a sword by looking at him. The only reason you all know he uses genjutsu is because he used that to beat Sachihiro. None of you know anything about his true skills, do you?"
Again, no one responds.
"That means that there is an unknown that advanced all the way to the finals. Truly he's the best shinobi here simply because no one knows what he can do. You all don't even know if he's a genjutsu, ninjutsu or taijutsu type."
"Midori, that explanation was way too long." Sasuke says from behind me. "Did you really have to lay everything out like that? Took way too much time."
"Okay, so maybe I did go a tad over the top." I just wanted to show off a bit! I mean come on I'm a spymaster but I can't let anyone know that. Shirokumo deserves to have his hard work at least be used somehow! "Wait, when did you get here?"
"When you started talking about Lee." Wow that was a while ago. Whoops? "I also want to point out that Hiro can move again. He's struggling in his bonds."
I glance over to him and he freezes with wide fearful eyes. "What do you know, the Jiongu did process the poison faster. I thought it might." I turn back to Sasuke. "Enjoy yourself? I hope you know that just because we're from the same village doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you."
"... You're not going to cut him down are you?" Sasuke asks as everyone else is staring at me gobsmacked.
Okay so I did jump quickly from one topic to the next. I mean I went from defending Sasuke, to exposing everyone's weaknesses and strengths, and now I'm casually chatting with my teammate about the guy I have tied up because he pissed me off one too many times.
"Nope!"
"Midori you have issues." He blandly responds.
"Dude, don't we all? I mean come on we're Oto shinobi. We're all weird!"
"The next fight will be between Gaara of Sunagakure!" Eito's loud booming voice brings our conversation to a halt. "His opponent is our very own Leiko of Kusagakure!"
Gaara rises up in silence as both Temari and Kankuro give him an encouraging pat on the back. They don't say anything, rather their baby brother already knows that they're proud of him. Plus he's Gaara, how can he lose this?
Leiko, on the other hand, has no one here to wish her luck. Not even Sachihiro, who is sitting next to her has words of encouragement. Even if she did wish him luck he's not returning the favor.
She doesn't let that get to her, she boldly walks past all of us with her head held high. She's surprisingly confident for someone who is about to face down a jinchuriki.
"Do not underestimate me." She quietly says as she walks past me. "I will win."
Well now... it'll be interesting to see how she plans to beat a jinchuriki of all things. I wonder if her plan is close to mine at all?
Gaara vs Leiko
"So, you both ready then?" Eito says from between the two gennin.
"I am." Gaara drones out in his monotonous voice.
"Of course." Leiko scoffs.
"Alright then, begin!" Eito doesn't disappear in a swirl of grass. He doesn't even leap backwards like Leiko's first fight, rather he's standing there. He's very close, almost as if he's expecting this fight to go extremely quickly and doesn't want to move away.
Or he expects it to go horribly wrong and wants to be able to step in as soon as possible.
"So Gaara." Leiko casually attempts to strike up a conversation. "Before we fight-"
"There will be no betting." Gaara immediately cuts her off. "I am only here to get a promotion, nothing more, nothing less."
"No, no silly!" Leiko is too relaxed. Way too relaxed for this situation. "There's some things you should know."
"Go on." Gaara humors her, even though it's blatantly clear he doesn't want to. He just wants this over, in fact his eyes are darting to Sasuke and I. It's like he's analyzing us, trying to figure out the best way to defeat us both at the same time. He isn't even considering that he could lose this.
"Thank you. On my person there are thirteen vials of various antidotes, each one is the cure to one of my poisons."
"Impressive." Gaara drones out. "Yet irrelevant."
"Again, thank you. Now why am I telling you this?" Leiko drops the good girl act and dons the face of a predator. "Because only one of them will cure the poison currently flowing through your sibling's veins."
Sand explodes out of Gaara's gourd and instantly clamps down hard on Leiko's neck, both of her wrists and both of her ankles. It effortlessly lifts her into the air, she's completely at the mercy of Gaara in a matter of moments.
Except, she's not surrendering. Nor is Gaara pressing his advantage.
"Which one is it?" Gaara's voice is icy, for the first time there's emotion in his tone. That emotion is cold calculated fury.
"I'll tell you if you surrender." Leiko offers up. It sounds like she's having a casual conversation with a friend, completely opposite of the situation she's in.
"Then I'll just have to use them all." Gaara decides as multiple sand arms form and start to move towards the bound Leiko.
"Oh now that's a bad idea. Some of those antidotes don't mix well together, in fact a few could even be considered poisons if the poison they're meant to counteract aren't in their systems. Are you sure you want that fancy cocktail of toxins in your family's bloodstreams?"
Gaara turns to the contestant gazebo. "Midori-san, if you heal my siblings I will be forever in your debt. I will provide whatever reward you wish, regardless of price."
To demonstrate that he's serious about his words, a ball of sand forms over his left hand, then rapidly shrinks. It's not losing mass, it's being subjected to intense pressure. After only a mere five seconds a perfect diamond the size of a sparrow's egg is resting in his palm.
"I can give you a fortune." Gaara holds out his arm and the jewel to me even though we're dozens of meters apart. "Just heal my family."
Everyone's gaze shifts to me. Leiko's is panicked. Gaara's and the rest of the contestants are hopeful. The crowds are a mix of fear, respect and entertained joy. They wanted a show and they're certainly getting it now. There's drama, suspense, action and desperation all in a few minutes.
Tsunade's is one of defeat, she knows I don't have those skills. Orochimaru's is one of intrigue, he also knows that I'm not a medic nin and wants to see how I will handle this situation.
Fuck me. I never thought this would happen. I can't heal them, hell I don't even know how to identify if they are even poisoned! I've never bothered to learn how since I'm basically immune to them. How am I going to worm out of this one?
Well here goes nothing. Time to bullshit my way out of this.
"Gaara-san, I am sorry." I sorrowfully say, my voice is full of melancholy and defeat. "I would save them, simply because it is the right thing to do and not for the reward, but without having a sample of the poison that is in their system I am powerless. Regardless of that it takes time to create a cure, time that I'm sure they don't have. Not only that I highly doubt I have the needed resources on me to make the cure even if I knew how."
"Are you lying to me Oto shinobi?" Gaara let's a hint of his fury manifest as killing intent. Next to me Noboru breaks out in a cold sweat.
I'm not even bothered. "No. I don't normally work with poisons, I focus on bodily harm. Broken bones, cuts, tears, torn muscles, and in extreme circumstances limb reattachment. Poisons are my weakest area."
"Then why do you use poisons yourself?" He accuses me.
Shit! My daggers are coated in poisons how did I forget that? Okay okay just keep spewing bullshit and hopefully he'll buy it. The key to lying is to include some truth in it. Hell I've been lying to Orochimaru for months! Lying right now to Gaara should be a piece of cake compared to that.
"These poisons are made by my summons. They posses the cures to them, but can't really make more for unique poisons. Rather than saying that my poisons are made by my summons, it's more accurate to say that they're secreted by my summons. It's venom not poison. To cure mine you have to be bitten by one of my summons and they inject the antidote in place of their venom."
"So you cannot." Gaara grimly asks for confirmation.
"Correct. I am sorry." The sorrow in my voice isn't faked.
"Well now that was interesting!" Leiko happily chants from her suspended spot. "Sooo... what's your-"
POP
"AAAHHHHHH!" Leiko's scream tears through the air. "What the fuck you asshole! I hold the lives of your family in my hands and you rip out my shoulder?"
Gaara dislocated her shoulder. Honestly I'm surprised she got off so lightly.
"This is a mere taste of what will happen to you if they die." Gaara let's the sand holding her wrists and ankles crumble away and lowers her to the ground. The one on her neck -her collar- remains. "Should you not heal them, then I will do the same thing to your neck."
Leiko's eyes go wide with fear. She didn't expect him to be this violent about it. She expected him to roll over and dance to her tune, instead she's dealing with a barely restrained jinchuriki.
"Are. We. Clear." Gaara's voice is scathing.
"Y-yes." Leiko whispers out.
"Eito-san I surrender." Gaara says the words that I never thought I would hear.
"Winner by forfeit: Leiko of Kusa!" Eito roars to the crowd. There's applause, but it isn't the thunderous roar that she got previously. Even some of the crowd disapproves of Leiko's tactics.
"Now release my gennin." Eito demands.
Gaara doesn't listen. He starts walking over to the gazebo, then pauses. "Come."
Leiko hasn't moved. She's standing frozen in place with Eito next to her. She's terrified.
"Come." Gaara's voice carries the authority of the gods themselves, yet still Leiko doesn't move. "So be it."
"URK!" Leiko is lifted up into the air by her neck. She's clawing desperately at her throat trying and failing to get the sand collar off of her. She's pulled through the air to be next to Gaara's side.
"Release her!" Eito shouts. "NOW!"
Gaara ignores him and resumes walking over to the gazebo, no he's swiftly walking to his silent family.
"I said RELEASE HER!" Eito roars and in a burst of speed lunges at Gaara with his fist drawn back.
SLAM
Eito hits a wall of sand. It sprouted up between the two of them like it has a will of it's own. Then a clawed fist surges out of the wall and smacks with a dull thud into Eito's chest, hurling him across the field.
But Eito is a jonin, an attack like that is nothing to him. He lands on his feet like he's hopped off of a half meter drop instead of landing from being thrown ten meters. Then he brings his hands together, he's going to use a jutsu. "I said RELEASE MY GENNIN!"
I look over towards Orochimaru. He's grinning, no doubt he's enjoying the power struggle that's taking place before him. Then his eyes dart to me and I swiftly yet subtly nod towards Gaara. Orochimaru's eyes shine with madness and he mouths four words to me: "You have my permission."
Eito finishes his hand signs for the jutsu. "Lightning Release: Spear of Thunder!" He rears back like an Olympian throwing a javelin and a spear of pure lightning forms in his hand. Then he hurls it.
"Alright fuck this." I vanish from my chair, moving at speeds that leave even Lee shocked. I blur past Gaara and stop in the way of Eito's attack. "Wind Release: Assent to the Heavens!"
Behind me I can hear several exclamations from the other contestants, they're all shocked that I can use a second element.
The air itself surges upwards, as if a massive beast is above me and is greedily gulping down giant lungfulls of air. Grass near me is being ripped from the ground, loose dirt and even some small rocks are rising up. Eito's attack is no different. Once the lightning spear enters the vicious and wild updraft it is dragged skyward and is soon no longer visible.
This is one of two of my own unique wind jutsu. Assent to the Heavens is made to do exactly what it just did, take any airborne projectile and launch it skyward. It works well with kunai and shuriken, senbon it's less effective on, but against lightning it's perfect. If Eito threw a kunai this jutsu would only lift it up, causing it to soar over our heads in a parabolic arc before coming back down. But since he attacked with lighting it's super effective, wind trumps lightning after all, and instead of just giving it an upwards push it hurled it up into the sky never to be seen again.
My other technique is known as The Burden of Atlas, and it does the opposite. Instead of pushing up, it pulls down and forces the projectiles to the ground. Neither of these jutsu are hard to learn, it's simple wind manipulation. It's the scale that I used it on that's impressive, even jonin would be hard pressed to use one of these techniques over such a wide area.
"I do not need assistance." Gaara bites out to me.
I look over my shoulder at him. "I agree, but you asked for my help earlier and I couldn't. But I can do this." I turn back to the enraged Eito. "Gaara, go save your family. Then maybe we could all get ice cream after the tournament."
Gaara's head whips towards me and for the first time ever there's surprise on his face. "Ice cream? You remind me a great deal of someone I've met before."
Shit shit shit! "Oh? Previous crush perhaps? How about we not do this now? Don't you have something else you need to do?"
Gaara doesn't reply, instead he briskly turns and resumes going towards his family.
"Midori! Green! Whoever you are!" Eito rages at me as I stand between him and Leiko. "Either move out of the way or you're kicked out of this Tournament!"
"Okay." I calmly say back to him.
"Glad you can see reason!" Eito sprints forward, intent on passing right next to me.
I stomp the ground and a tall wall of stone forms behind me cutting off his path. "Oh, did you think I meant okay you can go past?" I taunt him. "No, I'm going to stop you from stopping Gaara who is only trying to save his family that your gennin poisoned!"
"Then I'll go through you too!" Eito comes to an abrupt stop right before me and both of his hands are sparking with lightning. "Lightning Release: Clap of Thunder!"
I raise my arms in a defensive X, I know I can take this blow. I've taken much worse before.
BOOM
Blood bursts from both of my ears. What the hell?
~That's because of his jutsu. It wasn't an attack, rather it was meant to disorientate or in extreme cases render his opponent unconscious. He brought his two hands together and caused a 'Clap of Thunder' to happen only a meter away. The sheer volume of the sound was so intense it should have caused those effects. If you didn't have me here you'd be lying on the floor. Even some of the people in the stands look shaken up.~
But why am I bleeding from my ears? It's very uncomfortable.
~Because that attack would have ruptured your eardrums if you still had them. You ordered me to use blood as if you actually had it. If you get cut, you bleed. If you get your eardrums popped, you bleed.~
Oh. Well that's annoying.
Eito sprints forward again, this time he made it past me since I was chatting with the Jiongu. We can't have that.
A fist of stone bursts out of the wall Eito is sprinting up and attempts to sock him underneath his jaw. Eito contorts out of the way, but by dodging he had to jump off the wall and land back on the ground.
He points at me and viciously shouts something at me, but I can't hear it. Actually I can't hear anything.
~You also asked for accurate representation of damage dealt to you. You shouldn't be able to hear right now.~
"Hold on a moment." I say. Or shout. I probably shouted it. I hold a hand up to each of my ears and let it rest there for a moment. The Jiongu turns my hearing back on. "Okay, I can hear again."
"How are you standing!?"
"I'm just that good?"
"Midori-san, they're safe now, Leiko has administered the antidotes. There is no need to stall for more time." Gaara says from a hovering cloud of sand.
"Oh good. No adverse effects?" I immediately disregard Eito and give Gaara my full attention.
"None." Gaara assures me. "If there are then I know who to kill. Though it was unneeded, I thank you for your assistance."
"Of course." I let my wall crumble to dust and start walking back to the contestant gazebo. "Simply doing what was right. Oto shinobi may seem like monsters, but we're not. Usually. Some of the time? Depends on who you ask really. Hell ask the right person and they'll say I'm a monster!"
Gaara quirks one of his nonexistent eyebrows at me.
"I know right? I'm a barrel of cuddles and laughs! If you ignore a couple of rage fueled rampages. And a few questionable kills. And that one time I hid three hundred rubber ducks all over Otogakure. Well it was really only two hundred ninety nine but three hundred sounds so much better!"
Gaara stares at me in disbelief.
"Okay, so you have a point." I give in.
"Green has been kicked out of the Tournament!" Eito's livid voice shouts out to the crowd.
"Whatever." I shrug and keep walking. "There's always next time. Plus I've already proven my worth to my Kage."
"Then I request that Leiko also be kicked out of the Tournament and by process of elimination Red pronounced the victor." Orochimaru's voice silences the crowd. It seems like even the sounds of nature halted, this is as close to silence as you can get while being outdoors.
"On what grounds?!" Eito whirls towards my current Kage.
"She blatantly used lethal force. Twice. Against noncombatants. One is permitted to use lethal force against their opponent, but against the spectators?" A wicked grin forms onto Orochimaru's face. "How unsightly. Even I would never approve such tactics."
Collectively the crowd holds their breath. Everyone is waiting eagerly for what happens next.
"Of course," Orochimaru continues, "since it's my gennin she'll be fighting next I am willing to... overlook her transgressions if you let Midori compete as well."
"No! Absolutely not! She attacked me! The Proctor!" Eito spits out. "She's done!"
"Then Red is the winner of the Chunin Exams." Orochimaru levels a cold gaze on the proctor. "Announce it."
"No! Leiko and Red still have to fight!"
"You're playing favorites." Orochimaru's tone becomes deadly. "You do not get to bend the rules as you see fit. Announce it."
"No! The fight will be tomor-"
"Eito. You are making a fool of us." The Kusakage intervenes. Finally, he should have done that ages ago. "It is like the Otokage said, we do not get to play favorites. There will be a fight tomorrow between Red, Leiko and Midori. Or is it Green?"
"Either is fine." Orochimaru assures the fellow Kage.
"Then so be it! Tomorrow at noon will be the final fight!" The Kusakage yells to the shocked crowd. "Eito. Wait for me in my office." Eito doesn't move, he's staring gobsmacked at his Kage. "MOVE!"
"Yes Kusakage-sama!" Eito vanishes from sight.
"Would the contestants please wait for a few minutes? I would like to say something." The Kusakage asks of all of us and those that stood up sit back down. Sure we don't have to obey him, but it's common decency to respect a Kage.
A short minute later he's standing before us. "I apologize for the behavior of both my gennin and my jonin."
Wow. Didn't expect that.
"What both of them did was deplorable and I hope that you all understand that they will be punished accordingly after tomorrow. For Eito to go to such lengths, to show such favoritism to his own gennin, I should have seen it coming." He turns to me specifically. "Thank you for having the courage to stand up and do what is right. Regardless of tomorrow's outcome I am personally recommending you for a promotion. You've earned it." He turns to the Sound Siblings next. "Words cannot describe how sorry I am for what happened. For one of my own gennin to go to such lengths! Please, tell me what I can do to redeem Kusa."
"We would like to open trade with your country." Gaara replies. "Suna is settled in a desert, but we have many unique and valuable things to offer. What we lack are trade partners, we don't have that many. If you truly want to make up for their actions, I ask this."
"Done." The Kusakage accepts with ease. "Is there someone else I should talk this over with or do you carry enough authority to make trade agreements?"
"I will suffice." Gaara confirms. "I am being trained to be the next Kazekage, working with another Kage is only to be expected. I would be honored to personally work with you for the betterment of both of our countries."
"The next Kazekage eh? I believe the honor is mine then!" The Kusakage says in good nature. "I'll send a messenger to you to coordinate a meeting between us before you leave. But for now I've taken up too much or your time. And there's someone waiting for me in my office. I bid you all farewell."
"Well that was certainly interesting." I comment to Sasuke as he and I start to walk away. All of the gennin are breaking away from each other, we're going our separate ways.
"Yeah and what you did was really stupid. You almost got kicked out of the tournament!" He smacks the back of my head. "How the hell do you think Orochimaru-sama is going to react?"
"He gave me permission!" I tenderly rub my skull. "Did you have to hit me so hard?" I whine.
"I don't understand that person at all." Temari's hushed voice is meant for only her siblings to hear, but I catch it anyways. "She doesn't make sense! She's supposed to hate Suna! She was ready to kill one of our teams a month ago! But she's okay with risking her place in the tournament to help Gaara out? Hell she even knew that you didn't need the help! She practically laid out all of our skills not even an hour ago! She didn't react how she was supposed to at all! She should have been happy that Suna nin were suffering not throwing herself in harms way for us!"
"Sis, some people just don't make sense." Kankuro tries to calm her down. "I get the feeling that a lot of Oto shinobi are that way. What about you Gaara?"
"..."
"Gaara? You there buddy?" Kankuro asks.
"She is not who she says she is." Gaara quietly says after a long pause. "They're eerily similar..."
"She's like who?" Temari asks.
"She's like Alvarcus." Gaara explains and both his siblings jaws drop. "They both have a reason to hate Suna nin, but both treat us as an exception. They both have abnormal chakra systems and supplies, yet are not hindered by them. Both can use multiple elements, we've seen Midori use earth and wind so far. Although Midori seems to favor earth while Alvarcus preferred fire. When they both fight, they make sarcastic remarks. Dark humor flows from their mouths like second nature. She hasn't once taken a fight seriously, even when facing Lee. She hides behind a playful nature, yet beneath that is someone who is very cunning. I would wager that her mind is her best weapon, just like Alvarcus, which is why she goes to such lengths to appear free spirited. Alvarcus may have had numerous other skills, but without his mind he would never have used them all so fluidly or uniquely."
"Holy crap he's right." Kankuro says and I feel his eyes on me.
"I don't quite see it..." Temari uncertainly says.
"They both mentioned taking us out for ice cream."
"No. No no no. It can't be. Can it?" Temari turns her eyes onto me too. "Should we confront him? Her? Argh!"
"No." Gaara calmly says. "If it is Alvarcus then he's hiding who he is for a reason. What kind of friends would we be if we exposed him?"
"But he doesn't belong in Sound!" Kankuro whisper shouts to Gaara.
"And?" Gaara emotionlessly says. "Did either of you pause to think that maybe the Hokage ordered him there?"
"What are you on about?!" Temari asks in hushed anger.
"Do you really think that a Sannin wouldn't pick up on the similarities that us gennin did? Or his jonin sensei who happens to have seen every match? It's highly possible that he's a spy. So we will not confront him. We will let him continue. Besides, it is possible that we're wrong. Midori could truly be Midori. Although I admit it would be nice to receive a sign if he truly is our friend."
I look over my shoulder straight at Gaara. Kankuro and Temari's eyes widen in surprise but I didn't phase Gaara for a moment. I give him a brisk nod, a confirmation and a thank you.
"Holy shit." Temari and Kankuro say in unison.
Okay, so that was probably a bad idea. Can't take it back now though.
"Hey! Are you paying attention to me at all?" Sasuke asks as he shoves my shoulder.
"Uh... yes?" I squeak out.
"Then what did I just say?"
"Uh... Wow that Midori is a really cool person!"
Sasuke sighs. "I don't even know why I bother. Come on, Orochimaru-sama expects us back at his hotel."
"We better hurry then, we both know he doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"I already said that but someone wasn't listening!"
Orochimaru's Hotel, Ten Minutes Later
"Good good you're both here!" Orochimaru says as Sasuke and I walk into the room and pull off our respective masks. There is no risk of being discovered here. "Come sit down! Let's chat about today, I want to hear what you both thought."
Sasuke and I plop down onto a couch. I practically melt into it, it's ridiculously comfy. "Oooh, can we bring this back with us?"
"I'll make a deal with you, if you create a storage scroll capable of holding it then we can." Orochimaru gleefully says. "Learning seals was on your list of things to learn, wasn't it?"
I turn an incredulous look on my Kage. "You expect me to learn a whole new skill set in under a day? I'm not that good."
Orochimaru gently hands me an extremely worn yellow leather bound book. "That will help. It's the first journal I ever wrote about seals, back when I was still a novice and learning them for the first time. It will walk you through how to craft a few basic seals, and it has insight from me to make them better or easier to create. Cherish it always."
I glance at the worn yellow book in a new light. "You know I never really made the connection that at one time you were a novice. I mean of course you had to be at one point, but it just never really hit me till now."
"That's an attribute of most S-rank shinobi. Everyone forgets that at one time we were unskilled." Orochimaru smirks. "Eventually people will say that about you, won't they?"
I share his smirk. "That's the plan." Black threads extend out of the bottom of my shirt and tenderly wrap around the worn book. They pull it up under my shirt and then disappear with it. There isn't even a bulge or the outline of the book showing through my shirt.
"Oh?" Orochimaru asks in interest. "I thought you didn't know seals, but it appears that you already know how to craft a storage seal. Pity, I thought I had a challenge for you."
"He doesn't." Sasuke grunts out. "Alvarcus where did you put the book?"
"Safest place I know." I pat my gut lovingly. "If you want to keep something safe, keep it close. There's no place closer than here."
"It's... inside you?" Sasuke's face pales slightly and gains a green tint to it.
"Yep. I mean it's not like the space was being used or anything."
"I think I'm going to be sick." Sasuke says as he turn greener.
"Kukukuku!" Orochimaru is eyeing me in a whole new light. "It's the perfect spot! No one would think to look within a body for sensitive information! It's something only you can do, simply magnificent! You still manage to impress me even now!"
I offer up a shrug. "Never done it before, just figured it was easier than carrying it around and risking it getting stolen. Once I learn how to make storage seals this will become obsolete."
"Still, it is good to know that you're capable of that." Orochimaru forcefully wipes the smile off his face. "Anyways, we've become distracted. Alvarcus, did you enjoy your fight against Hiro?"
"Oh shit Hiro!" I shout. "I didn't cut him down!"
"He'll be fine." Orochimaru dismisses. "I'm sure someone cut him down."
At the Contestant Gazebo
"MMMMMM!" A muffled scream echoes out into the empty field.
"How fortunate." A deep gravely voice breaks the quiet. "Now I don't have to track you down."
"MMM! MMMMM! MMMMMMMMM!" Hiro starts to squirm, he's hoping that his savior is here.
"You fancy yourself a Jiongu wielder?" The owner of the deep gravely voice steps into Hiro's line of sight. It's a tall imposing man wearing a concealing cloak with red clouds on it. He's still partially hidden in the shadows, his upper half is shrouded in them. "I'm going to ask you a question. Blink once for yes, twice for no. Answer this question as if your very life depends on the answer. Are you a Taki shinobi?"
Hiro blinks once at his savior.
"Let me introduce myself." The speaker steps into the light and a yellow stain forms on the webbing around Hiro's crotch. "I am Kakuzu, missing nin of Taki. Wielder of the Jiongu and the one who decides who get to use it. Unfortunately for you, I've decided that no one from Taki will ever use it again. In fact, until just under a year ago I was intent on being the only person to ever have it but even I realize that having a successor of sorts isn't a bad idea. Lately I've been acting covertly, I need someone to remind the world to fear the Jiongu. Alvarcus is doing that nicely for me and unlike you he passed my test."
Kakuzu looks over Hiro's shoulder.
"Hidan, would you like to kill this one? You're much better at causing pain than I am."
"Oh fuck yeah!" A new voice, one much younger shouts. "Let's get this party started!"
"Remember that we will have to clean up this mess. We don't want any evidence left behind of our presence." Kakuzu says as he pulls out his red leather bound book and opens it to a specific page. "Now, to go over my finances that are being stored in Iwa again. I believe someone is trying to swindle me with outrageous interest percentages. Perhaps I should pay them a visit?"
"Yeah you're probably right." I push the idea that Hiro is stupid enough to not use the Jiongu to free himself out of my head. "I'm sure he's fine."
"So, did you enjoy that fight? It isn't every day that one gets to battle their own skill set." Orochimaru asks again.
"Eh, it was alright." I wiggle deeper into the couch. "Sure we might both have the Jiongu but our respective skills with it are drastically different. He only made one monster and barely used it at all. I'd even wager that he's still new to it, his arms aren't like mine." I pull up a sleeve and my bandages to show them both my arm. It's littered with scars, it looks like I went through a blender. "His are unmarked."
"Fair point." Orochimaru concedes to me.
"Although, I did enjoy dragging him across the ground." I smile fondly as I reminisce about that moment. "Good times."
"Yes." Orochimaru narrows his eyes slightly. "You seem to be shifting into your self imposed female role very easily."
I shudder. "I fucking hate it! It's hands down the worst idea I've ever had!"
A small weight is lifted off Orochimaru's shoulders. "Only one more day then you can stop it."
"It isn't coming soon enough." I growl out. "Never doing that again. No thank you!"
"Sasuke, how was your fight?" Orochimaru turns to him. "Did you enjoy it?"
"No. It was unsatisfactory." Sasuke darkly says. "I thought I could find a challenge here. I was looking forward to a rematch against Gaara. He's the only one here who can hope to match my skills, everyone else is just in the way. And that bitch got him to surrender!"
"Yes, Leiko was quite resourceful." Orochimaru lost a little bit more weight from his shoulders. Now he doesn't have to worry about Sasuke fighting Gaara. "It's also very surprising-"
"-that we had the same idea." I cut in. Orochimaru glares at me. "Sorry?"
"Yes." He continues while shooting me a disapproving look for interrupting him. "Her practical skills are average, but her mind is sharp. For both of you to realize that the easiest way to beat Gaara was to poison his family and force him to surrender is unexpected."
I offer up another shrug. "It does make the most sense. There were two ways to win, knock out or surrender. We both knew that we couldn't knock him out, so we found the easiest way to make him surrender. Threaten his family. I'm more interested in how she poisoned them. I had a few spiders on standby to do the deed for me, but I have no idea how she managed to get them."
"That doesn't explain why you played the hero." Sasuke interjects. "Why did you think that was a good idea? Hell she used our plan! You shouldn't have cared."
"Simple really, it made us look better." I start to explain. I'm sure Orochimaru has already figured this all out, but he's still riveted to me. "I went to Gaara's aid. In other words, Oto went to Suna's aid. That alone speaks volumes but I also went out of my way to make sure everyone knew that the safety of his family was more important to me than advancing in the Tournament. I showed everyone present that even Otogakure has human shinobi, that we have compassionate shinobi. It helped to break us out of the mold of crazy abnormal soldiers. Don't get me wrong, we still are but now the public views us as less weird."
"Is that what you were going for?" Orochimaru says.
"Uh... yeah?" I hesitantly say. "Wasn't that your goal? You did give me permission."
"Oh that! I just wanted to see what you would do and to spice things up a little." Orochimaru lovingly smiles at me. "What a good child, always thinking of how he can help his father."
"Of course." I can't wait to kill you. I will feel so much better. Only two and a half years and you're dead.
"So, do you both have a plan for Leiko tomorrow?" Orochimaru asks.
"Not yet." Sasuke says. "Again, I thought for sure she would lose. The idea that she could win never crossed my mind."
"Sorta." I chime in. Both of them look to me to explain. "Well, I was thinking about letting her throw everything she has at me, then watching her get more and more desperate as each and every attempt fails, then casually dealing a one hit knock out. Or better yet, I could let some spiders out to play."
"What if she comes after me first?" Sasuke asks.
"Eh, I'll jump in and tell you to wait or something. Say that I want to beat her one on one for all the shit she's caused me."
"Acceptable!" Orochimaru claps his hands together. "Seeing her spirit break will be interesting! What of your battle? Surely the two of you will fight it out?"
Sasuke and I look at each other.
"I don't really want to." Sasuke says.
"Me either." I hastily agree.
Orochimaru didn't want to hear that. The room got colder and the lights seem dimmer, but his eyes are shinning, gleaming in the night like a snake ready to strike. He says one word, "Why?"
"It wouldn't feel right." Sasuke starts to explain. "The two of us know exactly what the other is capable of, but neither of us can use our full skills. We're limited while here, it would be like having two prize racehorses see who is the fastest walker."
"Yeah, if we were to fight we both would want to use our full power. Hell I'm okay with having a fight back at Oto between the two of us if it means that much to you. It'd be a better show and everything."
"Hmm. Perhaps." Orochimaru says. "Then if you are not going to fight, who will win?"
"Sasuke will." I say. "The Kusakage said he'd talk to you about me getting promoted already. Plus I pretty much have it in the bag. But Sasuke hasn't really showed any skills off, so we might stage a fight of sorts with him as the victor. Or I'll just surrender to him while saying something like 'I know there's no way I can beat you.'"
"About time you admit that." Sasuke arrogantly says with his trademark Uchiha tone.
"Please, we both know that this is a one time thing. It's all an act."
Knock Knock
"How unexpected." Orochimaru rises up from his chair. "It appears I have a visitor. Masks on."
Both Sasuke and I don our masks.
Orochimaru boldly opens the door to reveal a Kusa shinobi. They're decked out in all black garb, everything about them is dull. Their hair is a muted brown, their weapons are hidden in non reflective sheaths, and they have on a blank white mask. It's one of Kusa's ANBU.
The ANBU promptly kneels to Orochimaru. "Orochimaru-sama, I come bearing a request of the Kusakage. Could I have an hour of your time?"
"Interesting." Orochimaru eyes the kneeling nin in open hostility. "Why should I?"
"It may gain you access to an unsealed Byakugan." Fuck me.
Orochimaru's hostility vanishes without a trace. "Come in, come in! It would be unbecoming of me to not at least listen to a messenger of another Kage!"
The ANBU rises and walks into the room without making a sound. Whoever this is is good at stealth.
"Are you okay with them being here?" The ANBU asks while nodding towards Sasuke and I.
"Of course I am, all of my shinobi would never betray me or my interests." Orochimaru sits back down in his chair. "Now, you mentioned a Byakugan?"
"Yes." The ANBU starts talking. "You are aware that Hinata Hyuuga is the heiress of the Hyuuga clan?" Orochimaru nods. "That means that her Byakugan is not sealed, since she is of the Main Branch. What my Kage is proposing is a joint operation between our two villages. Regrettably our first attempt to acquire the Byakugan didn't work-"
"Of course it didn't." Orochimaru cuts off the ANBU. "Did you honestly expect Tsunade of all people to not know what was in those syringes?"
"Since our first attempt failed, we cannot be seen trying again." The ANBU takes a breath to steady himself. "With your permission, we would like to masquerade as Oto shinobi and openly engage the Konoha shinobi on their way back and kidnap the Hyuuga."
"...There's more isn't there?" Orochimaru asks.
"Yes. Unfortunately no one in Kusa can stand alone against the Hokage. We have a few teams that might be able to stall her for long enough, but any moves they used could be linked back to us since they are either bloodlines or kinjutsu known only to Kusa."
"But I can." Orochimaru says what the ANBU is implying. "You're asking me to fight Tsunade while you and yours fight the rest."
"Yes. That is the plan in its simplest form."
"Hmm..." Orochimaru thinks things over for a few moment. They're some of the scariest moments of my life. What will he say? Will he make Sasuke and I part of the plan? Does he want me to pluck out Hinata's eyes to assure that he gets one? "I will have to refuse."
Oh thank the sweet merciful Kami. Finally something went my way!
"May I ask why, Orochimaru-sama?" The ANBU is playing a dangerous game.
"Of course, I don't like sharing. If I want the Byakugan I will have a complete set, not just one. Besides, as interesting as it would be to study, facing off against Tsunade and the rest of her jonin is not something I wish to do. Since you are obviously ignorant, one of the jonin here is Kakashi Hatake. One of the few considered to be the Fifth Hokage before Tsunade stepped up. That means that there are two Kage level opponents. It is true that he is not as skilled as Tsunade, but that does not mean that he's any less dangerous. To be considered as a possible Kage -especially in one of the Big Five Villages- speaks volumes about his skill."
"...We were unaware of that fact. Thank you for your time." The ANBU rises and moves towards the door.
"Oh and ANBU?" Orochimaru calls after the retreating shinobi. "If I even hear a rumor that Oto shinobi attacked anyone while leaving Kusa I will burn your village to the ground."
"I will pass it along to my superiors."
"See that you do." Orochimaru says as the ANBU leaves. Once the door fully closes Orochimaru turns back to Sasuke and I. "Now that was eventful!"
"Orochimaru-sama," I carefully say. This is a delicate situation, but I need this question answered for the sake of my mental health. Or what is left of it. "Do you have any interest in the Byakugan at all?"
"Interest? Yes, but I simply don't have the time to study it right now." He glares at his hands. "I am too busy trying to harness natural chakra to hopefully restore my hands. It would be nice to have a pair or two, but it isn't a priority."
Thank Kami. That makes my life so much easier.
"Now why don't you two move on with your day?" Orochimaru says. "Get some food, see the sights, take a look at my journal. The rest of the day is yours, there is no need to come back here again."
"Well... alright then." Sasuke and I rise up and make our way out of the hotel.
Sasuke and Alvarcus's Hotel
"Sasuke." I say the moment the door shuts behind us both. We're here to unload some of our weapons. There's no need to carry around a small armory now.
"Yes?" He carefully asks. He's sensing my sudden hostility and is wondering what could possibly have gotten me this mad.
I'm glaring at the hammocks. "Remind me to tear those down before we leave."
"Why?" He softly asks me.
"They remind me of Tayuya." I'm still conflicted about her. All of her actions, every moment we shared together from her dumping water on me to stealing my innate warmth, were they all lies? Did she fake everything just because Orochimaru ordered it? Or was there actually something there?
The worst part is I'll never know. She's dead, gone forever.
Why is it that everyone I care about dies? My parents, my sibling, Sakura, Gina, and now Tayuya?
No, that's not quite true. Kakashi is still around, all of my friends in Konoha are too. Then there's Tsunade, and Shizune, and the rest of the jonin I know. Not to mention Sasuke.
"Of course. We'll do it tomorrow morning before we go to the field. That way we know it's done in case we have to leave unexpectedly."
"Thanks." I mutter as a start pulling out my various weapons. I'm only taking a pair of kunai with me. "I'm going to go out for a bit, maybe get some food and read Orochimaru's journal. Want to come?"
"Nah." Sasuke waves me off. "I'm going to take it easy. This is the last night in a long time that I'll be able to lounge around."
"Pfft! Where was that attitude when we first came here?"
"Yes, well I was expecting to face off against Gaara eventually not some worthless kunoichi. So forgive me if I wanted to prepare as much as possible."
"Whatever. I'll be back in a few hours, don't stay up for me."
Around Twenty Minutes Later
"Oh hello again!" A bubbly waitress says once she comes over to my table. I'm back at the restaurant that Sasuke and I nearly had a brawl in. "Glad to see you're back. What can I get you?"
"Do you serve steak? I haven't really had a chance to look at the menu yet." I may have been just a tiny bit distracted by Orochimaru's journal.
"Of course!"
"I'll take that then. With a water please."
"I'll bring it by once it's ready." She assures me.
"Thank you."
I turn back to the worn yellow journal. I haven't even opened it yet, I've just been looking at it.
What would drive Orochimaru to give me something obviously special to him? This journal is beyond well used, it's obviously been through a lot and has been opened and closed countless times. There's creases and bends, there's ink blotches and drink stains and that's just on the outside.
I carefully crack the journal open.
"Wow. Never thought that Orochimaru would have such precise handwriting. This looks like it was typed!" I quietly mutter to myself. "Well, no time like the present." I begin reading the first page.
"Your steak is here." The waitress is back with my meal.
"Thank you."
I'll get to it in a moment.
"Uh... sir?" The waitress asks me. "Would you like me to warm that up for you?"
"I'm sorry?" I finally pull myself from the journal.
"It's just... you've let it sit for a hour and a half." She points to my still untouched steak. "It's cold now."
"Oh. I'm sorry, there's no need. I don't mind cold meat. I got distracted." I close the journal and give it a pat.
"Must be one hell of a book." The waitress says as she walks over to other customers.
"Yes, yes it is." Orochimaru is a genius. There is no denying that. The first two dozen or so pages are him analyzing and deconstructing a basic storage seal, he broke down what each part means and why it's there. Then he goes on to explain how all the parts link together, and on the last page in the part about storage seals he made a step by step instruction list for future reference.
Hell I could probably make a seal right now! Except my calligraphy is abysmal. I've only seen one person with worse penmanship than me, and that's Kakashi. I have no idea how people read his mission reports or letters, it's a miracle I can and I was his student!
"No wonder Orochimaru thought I could steal -er uh seal! I meant seal!- that couch. This makes it too easy. Although," I eye my recently bought beginner's seal kit, "I probably shouldn't try it here."
"Don't you mean 'Orochimaru-sama?' Better not let him hear you saying that." A cheeky female voice says.
"I don't know, perhaps he really doesn't care that much about the Otokage." A male voice chimes in. "Oops? I meant she."
"Hello Midori." A second male voice says and all three of the newcomers sit down.
"Temari, Kankuro, Gaara." I greet each of them and snap the journal shut before placing it on my lap. My threads pull it inside me out of the view of everyone else. "Can I help you?"
"We thought you could use some company." Temari says. "You were sitting by yourself, you looked like you could use some friends."
"Friends?" I hesitantly says.
"Of course." Gaara says. "That is what we are, friends. You helped save my family, as such I consider you a friend."
"Well alright then." I'm going to roll with this. It shouldn't be weird to see all of us together, especially after the stunt I pulled. People will assume it's the Sand Siblings thanking me. "Just don't go telling anyone about me, will you?"
"We won't." Kankuro promises.
"Your secret is safe with us." Temari assures me.
That went better than expected. Way better. "So, tell me about Suna. I've never been there before."
"You're not going to believe it, but it's sandy!" Kankuro opens up conversation. For the rest of the night, the Sand Siblings tell me about their home. It's nice to just chat with people, not wearing a metaphorical mask and to let down a little of my guard.
Omake: Three Hundred Rubber Ducks?
In front of Otogakure's mission board, something strange is happening. No one is taking a mission, barely anyone is moving. Everyone is transfixed by one thing, one small bright yellow thing balancing on top of the mission board.
"Is that a rubber duck?"
Otogakure's Accounting Office
"What do you mean all of our approve or deny stamps have been replaced with rubber ducks!?" The head accountant roars at his staff.
The Kitchens
"I am not amused." The head chef states. "We are here to cook, not to play around."
In one of their sinks used to wash dishes is a floating rubber duck.
The Prison
"HAHAHA! That's it! I'm finally insane! There's a duck staring at me from outside my cell! AHAHAHA!"
"Why the fuck is there a duck in my shower? I haven't had a rubber duck in years!" Tayuya says to herself.
"This... is concerning." Kidomaru says as he's staring into his closet. "Who replaced all my clothes with ones with duck designs on them?" He grabs a shirt. "Hold on, someone sowed rubber ducks onto my stuff? What the fuck! Who does that?"
Sakon is starring at one of his bookshelves. "Ukon, wake up."
"Hmm?" Ukon groggily says. "Uh, bro? I never knew you had a duck fetish. That's messed up, even for us."
"So I am not hallucinating the three scantily clad anthropomorphic ducks arranged in what appears to be a threesome?"
"What the shit?" Jirobo says as he's securing on his belt. "Who swapped out my belt buckle for a duck themed one?"
Little did he know, there was also a rubber duck glued to the center of his three tufts of hair.
"Well, whatever. It doesn't look that bad."
"ACK!" Sasuke harshly coughs. "Who the fuck put a rubber duck in the coffee mugs?!"
"I'm actually impressed." Orochimaru is starring at his lab. Usually it's bland and frightful, but now it's just frightful. In fact some would wager it's more terrifying than before. "I never knew they made rubber ducks holding torture devices and medical tools."
Poof!
"Hey Al- Oh!" Shirokumo cuts himself off. "You put a rubber duck in my web?"
Kabuto casually makes his way back to his room after a long research session. He opens his door.
Then freezes.
He slams the door shut.
"One. Two. Three." He counts in a failed attempt to calm himself.
He opens the door again, only to slam it shut once more.
"Kai!"
The door creaks open again.
"Quack?"
SLAM!
Five Hours Ago, at a Store
"I'm sorry? Could you repeat that?"
"I need two hundred ninety nine fake ducks and one real duck."
"But... why?"
"Because it'll be hilarious!"