Chapter 1
A faintly conscious Sasuke was dragged in to the grand castle of Lord Itachi. (For the purposes of this story, Sasuke and Itachi are not related!!) Sakon and Ukon ,his two draggers, forced him to stand, lining him up with the cold gaze of Lord Itachi Redeyes. Behind him on two regal ebony throne chairs sat Haku and Orochimaru.
Ukon made his report "Lord, this scoundrel was caught suspiciously close to the castle bearing these:"
Sakon threw all of Sasuke's supplies on the ground revealing he carried a sword, food and miscellaneous ninja tools.
It looked as if Itachi was about to speak when a sharp knock was heard, and appeared a long (to his waist)-haired Kabuto bearing what seemed to be excellent tidings.
"Lord, the immortality jutsu is close to perfection." said an excited Kabuto! "The explosion now only covers around ten feet."
'That's perfection?' thought Sasuke.
"But it still kills the shinobi who performs it?" questioned Itachi.
"Yes, bu-
"THEN LEAVE AND DON'T TALK ANYMORE ON THE MATTER UNTIL IT IS PERFECT!!"
He then turned, as if he had just noticed Sasuke. He beckoned his offspring toward him and asked: "You will rule one day when I am gone. What will his sentence be?"
"To death with the fool" bluntly replied Orochimaru.
"No, let him live" protested Haku. "He didn't know the law, but now that he does, he won't be any trouble."
Orochimaru snarled cruelly as Itachi proclaimed: "Very well, get him out of my sight he is free to go.
Sakon dragged the ninja half of a mile from the castle and dropped his supplies by him.
Sasuke angrily grabbed his sword and turned to slay him but when he turned to swing out, it was as if Sakon was never there!
Kabuto waited behind the corner of the hall containing the door to the throne room.
A kimimaro, the elite soldiers of Lord Redeyes, was briskly walking to serve Itachi his medicine. He turned the corner and jumped back when he suddenly saw Kabuto.
"FEATHER ILLUSION JUTSU!!" cried Kabuto!
The kimimaro fell unconscious and Kabuto killed him swiftly with a blow to the heart! He quickly applied a freezing patch he had developed to stop the bleeding. "Dead Soul Jutsu!" he whispered. He pulled a pack containing heavy sleeping powder.
'One bag of this should induce a fatal coma' thought the young healer, as he poured the powder in. It was designed for reasons such as the one it was being used in, as it didn't change the color of the medicine he poured it into and was tasteless. Kabuto slipped a few pills into the living corpse's mouth and sent it back to his task.
The kimimaro walked in to the impatient lord's chamber.
"You're late, try to serve your master on time if you expect me to live longer!" berated the old lord.
The kimimaro walked halfway to the throne room and then stopped and collapsed, this time forever.
"I'll get Kabuto!" screamed a frantic Orochimaru, leaving a surprised Haku to watch the figure lying down on the floor, strangely with the medicine in place.
In less than the space of a minute, Orochimaru returned with Kabuto, who quickly examined the cause of death.
"He has been poisoned, looks like by taking the wrong medicine from the stores! This one did never pay attention to what he ate." replied a quivery Kabuto, as he began to remove the corpse.
"I suppose I should help you with that" sighed Orochimaru, soon receiving a nod from Itachi.
"You'll give dad the medicine, right Haku?" questioned Orochimaru.
Haku shrugged and said "I guess I will"
Orochimaru and Kabuto left Haku to bloody his hands from their murder. Haku administered the medicine by hand, making sure his dad drank it all. The regicidal pair laughed all the way to the medicine stores, knowing their king to be dead before the week passed and that Haku would receive full blame.
Chapter 2
Sasuke was in an awful rage upon discovering the unfairness that Sakon had dealt him with. He had had food to last him the rest of the week, but upon checking his provisions, he found he only had enough for a day! He made a resolve to right this injustice, and stormed angrily toward the castle.
It was only a few minutes later he realized he didn't know where the castle was! He had been blindfolded when Sakon was with him, and as a result had no clue where to head. He sat to think, and only then realized he was being watched. Carefully, he opened his bag so his watchers would know he had food. He then pretended to rest, and was rewarded by the sound of men, three in all moving toward him. He grabbed his sword and attempted to run his captor through, but was astonished to see it turn into a pile of leaves.
He turned to see a pile of leaves where he heard the other people……and then felt an explosion from behind and saw them in front.
"Paper bombs in the leaves….."
He felt the cool morning air on his back and realized his shirt had been blown straight through by the bomb. Then, the three men rematerialized in triangle formation.
"Fire Style: Fire Pillar Jutsu" yelled Sasuke
"Wind Style: Smoke Clone Jutsu" yelled what seemed the trio's leader
As the smoke cleared Sasuke was surrounded by about 27 clones of the trio.
"Fire Style: Fire Whip Jutsu"
"Water Style: Water Wh-" The speaker was then silenced by Sasuke's whip.
He swung again and hit the other man and his clones straight through their ranks.
"Wind Style: Smoke Condensing Jutsu!"
The smoke left by the clones condensed and began to choke Sasuke. The last thing he remembered was a man running away hastily, and seeing two corpses lightly burning.
Sasuke awoke with, painful hunger, awful cough, caused by the smoke that enveloped him he guessed. He then began to realize he was lucky to be alive, and was going to forget the incident. When he got up, he collapsed quite readily, soon discovering why. The smoke had severely weakened his lungs, and the paper bomb had injured his back more than he first realized. For the rest of the week, Sasuke laid down and attempted to heal enough to head to the castle. And, by the end of the week, he located the castle, and was on the march again.
Kabuto was so soundly beaten by Orochimaru, he had to check in to his own sickbay a few moments later, grumbling about the amateur healing he was getting. He angrily listened to the healer's gossip.
"Zat waz a cluz one, eh"
"For sure, Lord Redeyes looked as good as gone just yesterday!"
"I always knew he would get out that ole coma, he's too strong to be killed like that"
"Yuz waz the fust one to bet he's wuld die"
"Poppycock, I always knew he would make it"
"LESS TALKING AND MORE EFFICIENT HEALING, YOU SCUM" yelled
Kabuto!
Orochimaru's craftiness was paying her (errr…himno, it) well. A new plan hatched, he went to Lord Redeyes and began to prod his suspicion toward her brother.
"Dad, isn't it odd that the only time Haku serves you, and when I'm not with you, you fall into a coma?"
"No….actually…yes."
"And Kabuto did find traces of a drug missing from the medicine stores…one for comas…."
"Perhaps…that is so….."
"Just be wary my liege, your son might be power-hungry….."
(S)He made her departure thinking quite maliciously 'Don't be too wary old man, your daughter is the power-hungry one!'
Two days later, phase 2, in mission 2 in her patricidal operation could be set in to motion. Looking through the iron bars that now encaged her convicted brother she said:
"Why Haku, why wh-" she ran off in tears, but not of sadness, but joy.
Now, the tricky part began. She snuck into Haku's right-hand servant, Zaku's room. She so carefully placed the empty veil, into the coat he was to wear tomorrow, its insides coated with poison, and not even Zaku would notice it.
The next day, finding the kimimaro who was to serve the lord his medicine she said: "You've been relieved, someone else is doing this job" As he happily pranced away, Kabuto made his move. He took the medicine from the servant and slipped an odorless, tasteless liquid into the medicine. He put the medicine in the retrieval spot, and found Zaku and berated him telling him:
"You're the kimimaro to serve lord Itachi. Go now, and don't make it late!"
A confused Zaku walked into the throne room, met by the cold eyes of Itachi and his daughter.
Zaku faithfully served his lord the medicine, waiting until the last gulp was gulped.
"Your work is concluded. You may go."
"If that is all, I will go too dad, if you see it fit."
"Yes. Go."
Orochimaru retired to her bed and laughed to herself, until she fell asleep. In the morning, she was awakened by the protocol for occasions like the one at hand that morning. She took it as sweet music to her ears, repeating it to herself, while the wails of the other kimimaro drowned her out so heavily she almost couldn't hear herself.
"LORD ITACHI REDEYES IS DEEEEAAAADDDDD!!" they wailed!
"Lord Itachi Redeyes is dead" she whispered to herself…..
"Lord Itachi Redeyes is dead!"