Life can be hell. It can be the worst thing ever. That's what I thought. What I knew. As a child, I didn't really have anything to live for. Family? They were killed by an unknown assassin. Friends? I had none. I was known as the loner girl, no one wanted to come near me. I only had myself. The world was my home, but I mostly stayed in the forest, above this tall tree that over-looked all of Konoha, my village. So, you see, I didn't even have a place to live! I was all alone in this world that treated me like hell.
It took one person to show me that you have to turn things around in situations like this. You have to be Hell.
"Even my team abandoned me," I grumbled to myself, taking tired steps forward through the Forest of Death. My body was scratched up everywhere, scars that never seemed to heal all over my body. A rustling nearby made my heart race as I glanced to the side where the noise was coming from. A small squirrel peaked its head out, making my body untense.
"Pathetic, I'm even afraid of a little squirrel," I hissed at myself, biting the tongue behind my teeth in pain. I ran a shaky hand through my dark, jet black hair as my amber eyes scanned the area around me. When I was sure no one was around, I threw myself to the ground, taking in deep breaths of air.
"Calm down, Ayumi. Even if you don't make it out alive, it won't matter, will it?" I said to myself, closing my eyes tightly. Oh, who am I kidding? I didn't want to die. But there was no reason for me to live. No reason for me to be here. Why does death have to be the only way out? "Death is so undeniable, it's scary. Death must be looking for victims. It must be looking at me. I can feel it glaring into my soul," I said to myself, pulling my legs towards me. But my body was so worn out, I couldn't even do that. I felt light tears swell around my eyes as horrible thoughts came into my mind, all of them which I couldn't avoid.
"Death isn't the only option, child," a voice said. My body, now alert, stiffened as I looked up and saw a man before me, smiling oddly and creepily. His hair was the same color as mine, traveling down his back, and his skin seemed to be peeling off, revealing paler skin. His eyes were like those of a snake. He was so scary, I believed he was death itself at first.
"Wh-what're yo-"
"You're so pathetic, you know that?" he continued, walking towards me slowly. "Here you are, in the Forest of Death, your team having abandoning you. Instead of being angry, you're sad. You should never even let tears form around your eyes. You have to be cold, tough, strong. Show the world that you're not going to back down; that you aren't scared at all. But you don't even seem to be capable of doing that," the man chuckled, snakes crawling out from his legs. I watched in terror as they slithered past me and helped me up, slithering back to their master. I struggled to stay standing, and when I found myself at the verge of collapsing on my knees, the snake guy's cold hands gripped me around the shoulders.
"I'm willing to help you, though," he said, smiling his creepy smile and letting his tongue slide out. I shuddered, but my mouth found the words I wanted to say.
"W-who are you?" He smiled wider.
"Orochimaru," he hissed, leaning forward and kissing the side of my neck. Before I could even react to that, I felt intense pain pierce my neck and then speed throughout my whole body like a bullet.
He bit me. That's all I felt, the rest was mind numbing pain that didn't let me realize I hit the ground. The whole world around me blurred as I wrapped my arms around me, my body suddenly cold. I felt like knives were cutting into my body, most of them surrounding the back of my neck.
"You have the power to make anyone cower in fear. Learn to use it or else you die." His words sounded loud as the echoed around me, disappearing with his footsteps. I stayed there, on the floor, seemingly lifeless, until I could finally move. I used all the energy I could to get to my feet, but I didn't have to. I felt like I had so much energy bottled up inside of me, just waiting to be used. How much energy, I didn't know, but I walked forward in search for my first victim.
"Hey, you're still alive," a rough voice spoke. I knew the voice belonged to one of my teammates. His name, I didn't know it. He didn't bother to know mine, so I hadn't bothered to learn his. His face was covered in small scratches, but other than that, he seemed to be doing just fine. I suddenly felt some overwhelming anger overcome me as I faced him, giving him a cold glare. "I thought you'd die."
"You wouldn't care if I died."
"Worthless people deserve to die," he scoffed back at me. I brought my arms up, ready to make fierce hand signals as I saw my teammate's eyes widen. I noticed my left arm was covered in strange, flowerlike black marks that crawled up my arm, probably around my neck, and around the left side of my face. My body felt like it was on fire.
And I liked it.
"Wh-whoa, calm it! I'm sorry, okay? Let's go find Isumini, okay? She has the scrolls, so you don't have to get all mad!" I took a step forward that made his eyes widen even wider than they already were, and his face twist in fear. "Ayumi!"
"Funny," I chuckled. "I didn't think my name mattered to you." With that, I began to make tons of hand signals, and a dark aura of shadows engulfed him.
Only the sound of his last, pain-filled shriek was heard.
~x~
That was when I realized I didn't have to cower before everyone. I had to make everyone cower before me, and thanks to Lord Orochimaru and my new found power, I could make anyone fear me. Because my teammates were killed, by me of course, I had to withdraw from my chuunin exam. But the next time I was in the chuunin exam, everyone cowered before me. Even my teammates feared me. I didn't have to fight for a scroll; I simply outstretched my arm and the scared idiot would hand it over. I breezed by everything because no one would challenge me. Life was no longer Hell.
I was Hell.
I walked down the streets of Konoha, people moving out of my way as I rushed through, in a hurry to see an upcoming fight. I have my money on one of my friends, Ilumi, or more widely known as the Light of Death, but she's had a weak leg, so anything could go do-
"Ow," I grumbled angrily. I had gone as far as into the beaten up part of the village, but apparently a dog had enough guts to crash into my stomach. I glared down at it and kicked it back gently, feeling the angry energy inside of me build up. "The hell, get out of here you mutt!"
"Who are you calling a mutt?" someone called out. I looked around, not knowing who this person was, or where he was. I took out my kunai, ready to battle, when a boy landed right in front of me.
"Damn," I muttered, amazed at how easily he landed. He seemed to have come from space, and he was still standing strong. Someone I admire already! His hair was messy and black, his eyes were like those of a dog, and his skin was tan, and probably muscular underneath that jacket of his.
Yes, he was cute. Yes, I fell for him right then and there. Was I going to admit that to anyone? No! I'd be seen as a weak little girl if that ever happened.
With that thought crossing my mind, I gave the boy a glare.
"Who are you?"
"Kiba Inuzuka. I know who you are, though. You're that girl that thinks its okay to go around beating everyone."
"I don't beat everyone. I beat anyone who gets in my way. And guess who's in my way?" I felt a light tug at my shoes and looked down to see the dog from before biting at my shoe, growling like a maniac. "Get your mutt off of me!" I shouted, pulling my foot back.
"Akamaru, down boy," Kiba said softly, Akamaru letting me go and walking back to his master, hiding behind his leg. I tried hard not to show how much I wanted to cuddle with that cute, fluffy dog and walked past the two.
"Smell ya later," I scoffed, running towards the fight.
~Kiba's Pov~
"Did you see that?" I told Akamaru as we watched Ayumi run off, eager to get somewhere. Akamaru barked, growling in Ayumi's direction. "She's not that bad, Akamaru. She's a really cute girl actually, she's just got a hard shell around her. Deep down, she's pretty nice. I knew her before she turned so cold. She used to really like dogs. I bet she still does, though, because when she saw you come to me, she was trying really hard not to smile." Akamaru barked once more, showing he didn't believe a word I said. "Looks deceive, Akamaru." Her hair used to be long and a beautiful black. Now it was chopped to her shoulders and layered, making her hair look somewhat dull. Either that or she didn't care for it like the other girls did.
But she wasn't like the other girls, was she? She was, deep down, but right now, she was trying too hard to be tough. A bark from Akamaru destroyed my thoughts.
"You know what, Akamaru. We're going to break that shell of hers, and then she'll be nice. She'll be a sweet girl who loves dogs and cares about everyone around her." And then maybe something can happen between us. But, I kept that to myself.
~x~
"You're looking for her?" Ino scoffed after I asked if she had seen Ayumi.
"Yeah. Where is she?"
"I saw her go out towards the forest, but why are you looking for that she-beast?"
"It's none of your business, Ino," I grumbled, walking away. Akamaru barked at me and raced forward, seeming to lead the way even though he had less of an idea where Ayumi was than I did. We seemed to walk around for ages, looking for any sign of Ayumi. We passed many trees, Akamaru marking his territory on most of them, and it seemed hopeless. Until Akamaru let out a vicious growl.
"What's wrong boy?" Akamaru growled louder, pointing his nose to an area shrouded with trees and bushes. I hushed Akamaru and slowly walked through the bushes, catching a glance of Ayumi. I was about to reveal myself when I saw someone else I couldn't recognize. Ayumi was in my way, but I saw a glimpse of the person's dark hair. My focus shifted back to Ayumi, my eyes fixated on her arm. It was covered in a dark, flowery kind of pattern that crawled up her neck and to the side of her face. How much of her face it covered, I didn't know, but this reminded me of something. What was it? Something having to do with Sasuke.
The Cursed Seal.
But that's impossible, because the only way to get the Cursed Seal was to-
"No way," I whispered, leaning forward intently.
"Nice. You seem to have no trouble controlling your power. You seem to be of more use than Sasuke," a voice hissed.
"It wasn't too hard. And I can scare the hell out of the pathetic ninjas that live here, too," Ayumi chuckled, her voice dark and cold. The sound of her voice made it impossible to even think there was a nice girl somewhere in there. I knew there was one, though. I snapped back into reality when I saw Ayumi a little farther away, Orochimaru before her. So it was, in fact, Orochimaru. All of Konoha was ordered to report Orochimaru's presence to Tsunade if he was nearby, but I couldn't seem to budge. I had to know what was going on between these two.
"You'd be a great body," Orochimaru hissed, smiling darkly. Oh gross…
"B-Body? What?"
"Yes, better than Sasuke's."
"Sasuke? I know him… But, what do you want with my body?" Ayumi asked, her voice slightly showing a scared emotion as she looked prepared to jump back.
"You see, I need another body to be in, and yours is powerful and has so much potential. So young… beautiful… strong…"
"But I want my body!"
"Do you want to be kicked around so easily, until you have no reason to be on this planet?" Orochimaru hissed angrily. Ayumi stepped back, looking down at her feet for a minute.
"N-No."
"There's nothing to worry about. Just agree, and you'll be so strong, no one will ever view you as worthless." Orochimaru wrapped an arm around Ayumi's shoulders, kissing the Cursed Seal until it died down. She shivered, pulling him off of her gently.
If I could look away I would.
"O-Okay," she agreed, stepping away from Orochimaru. "You have to leave. If someone sees you here, they'll-"
"Don't worry too much," Orochimaru chuckled. "We'll see each other soon."
"Okay." By the time those words escaped her lips, Orochimaru was gone, into the depths of his own Hell.
~Ayumi's Pov~
I didn't have time to recollect myself, because at that moment, something sprang out from behind me. I let out a small shriek, twisting myself around and about to pull out a kunai knife until I realized it was only Kiba.
I let out a long sigh, muttering, "You scared me for a second there."
"Why were you with Orochimaru?" Kiba asked, shocking me. He saw me? He saw Orochimaru?
"I-I wasn't with him," I replied shakily, taking a step back. It seemed I've gone back to feeling intimidated by people. The rage inside me piled up upon realizing this.
"I saw you! Don't lie to me! Why was he with yo-"
"Look, it's none of your business!" I shouted, turning around. "You're not involved so stay away from me!" With that, I ran off into the forest, Kiba shouting, "Hey!" and running after me. After five minutes of running, I was sure I'd lost him, hiding on top of a tall tree that over looked all of Konoha. I let out a long sigh, wiping the sweat trickling down my forehead.
I was in way over my head. All I wanted was to stop being picked around. I didn't want to be weak and small when people saw me. I wanted to be tough, strong, and now Orochimaru wants my body? What's up with that? I'm practically going to die, handing my body over for another soul to take. That's not what I wanted! To top it all off, Kiba saw Orochimaru all over me, even though I was just way too scared to know how to react.
"What am I going to do," I muttered to myself, pulling my knees to my chest and setting my head on my knees. Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes as I began to realize I should never have agreed to anything Orochimaru said.
Before I knew it, the sun set, darkness engulfing everything. I found peacefulness in the spot I was sitting on, despite everything I had gone through today. I smiled up at the brightest and only star in the sky, shining all by itself.
"Star, you shine so bright," I sniffled, smiling a little wider. "Even though you're alone, you just keep on shining. How about you grant me one small wish tonight?" The star seemed to shine brighter as I sighed shakily, preventing a sob.
"That I won't die on this destructive path of mine."
~x~
Orochimaru had told me to meet there, where we had been the last time. And yet he was late. That was okay, though. He didn't have to come and take away my body. I could stay with my body and live a happy life, without Orochimaru. I found myself smiling, but a sad frown found its way to my face as I realized what my head was thinking were only thoughts that would never come true.
"Ayumi," a voice said, making me turn around to them. For a second there, I thought it was Orochimaru, but it couldn't be. The voice was too worried and protective. Instead, it was Kiba.
I was never so glad to see anyone else.
"K-Kiba!" I exclaimed, smiling. Wait, I don't like Kiba. I hate him! I hate everyone, and everyone's afraid of me! My face hardened as I brought my fist up. "What're you doing here?"
"Stop the act, Ayumi," Kiba said. It wasn't what he said, though, that caught me off guard. It was how he said it. His voice was soft and worried. No one ever spoke to me in that matter. "I know you aren't really this mean bitch who hates the whole world. I know who you really are, so you can drop the act around me."
"I-I'm scared," I sobbed instantly, my voice cracking. My fist uncurled, my body unstiffened, and the tears poured out of my eyes. "I-I don't want th-this! Whatever this is, I-… I just wanted to ma-matter. I didn't want to b-be kicked around! But now, Lord Orochimaru is going to take my body! I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for any of this!"
"It's okay, Ayumi. Orochimaru's not taking anything," Kiba said in a reassuring yet determined voice as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug. I stiffened up. The last time I hugged someone, it was Lord Orochimaru, and I didn't even like that. Gross. But Kiba wasn't anywhere close to being like Orochimaru. My body unstiffened and I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head against his chest.
"I like my body, though," I mumbled softly.
"So does Orochimaru."
"… I hate him."
"What? Then why were you all-"
"I hate him, Kiba. I didn't know how to react, so I just let him do whatever he wanted. I was just glad to be alive, and not being kicked around. But now I realize Lor-" I caught myself, shaking my head. "Orochimaru is kicking me around."
"I know, Ayumi. I'm going to stop him, don't worry about it. I know you're scared, too scared to fight someone like him, but I will."
"But Kib-"
"I'll fight him, and then you can stop being this asshole everyone hates, and you can start being Ayumi." He paused, making me look up at me. He smiled, resting his forehead against mine. "Sound like a deal?" I stayed silent, simply taking in his words, and his hug, and his confident smile, and everything about him. I smiled softly, tears forming in my eyes.
"Yeah," I answered softly. Kiba smiled wider, his eyes showing how happy he was, but his smile disappeared as his body stiffened up.
"He's coming." I felt a great stab of guilt overcome me, knowing Kiba was going to fight my own battle.
"Kiba, you don't have to-"
"Yes. I do. Go hide on top of that tree, alright? If you see I'm having trouble, call the hokkage!"
"Kiba!"
"What?"
"…Don't die on this destructive path of mine," I mumbled, reciting the words from the wish. Kiba smiled, trying to make me feel better. I simply looked down, unable to meet his eyes.
"Hey," he said, grabbing my chin and pulling my face towards him. I looked at his brown eyes that told me not to worry, and I noticed he was leaning towards me. Before I could react, he placed his lips against mine, kissing me softly. He let me go, laughing at my shocked face.
"Hide, quick." All I could do was nod, the shock from the kiss and the fear of Orochimaru overcoming me so much I couldn't speak. I quickly jumped up onto a sturdy tree branch, hiding myself behind the leaves. It took me a while to find a perfect angle where I could see Kiba through the leaves.
"Where's the girl," a familiar voice hissed, one that made me stiffen up in fear. Orochimaru.
"She's not here right now, but I'll be glad to take a message," Kiba replied, bring two fingers up to his lips. He whistled loudly, his loyal dog arriving in mere seconds.
"I'm not here to fight, fool," Orochimaru hissed.
"I know what you're here for. And guess what? She doesn't belong to you anymore." Kiba took out a kunai knife, pointing it at Orochimaru. "She doesn't belong to anyone."
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," Orochimaru chuckled, the sound of snakes erupting behind him.
"I think I do."
I couldn't see anything, but I heard everything. It sounded like it wasn't going well for Kiba. They attacked each other straight on, merely trying to land hits, but then Kiba began to strategize. In the first ten minutes, I heard Akamaru let out a shriek of pain, followed by Kiba's, "Akamaru! Son of a-"
I wasn't too worried about Kiba. He was holding up well, even after Akamaru was too weak to battle. Kiba was doing just fine.
Or so I thought. The confidence I had in Kiba was gone when I was finally able to see him through the leaves. He wasn't standing firm, ready to attack once more. He was against the floor, panting as he spit out blood. My confidence drained, switching for worry.
"Kiba!" I shouted, darting out of the trees and to his side. "Are you okay?"
"I-… I told you to go to the hokkage," he managed to choke out between violent coughs.
"I'm not going to leave you like this," I exclaimed, turning to Orochimaru.
"I thought we had a deal," he hissed angrily, looking tired. Kiba started this battle, but now I had to end it. With Orochimaru, I felt like I was making a deal with a devil.
"Well guess what?" I growled with a glare. I felt the power inside of me increasing, my curse mark burning with energy. The burning spread, this time throughout my whole body.
"Deal's over."
~Kiba's Pov~
I coughed up more blood, my throat burning with the nasty taste of my own blood. Akamaru wasn't too far away from me, his eyes closed tightly as he tried not to yelp in pain. The sight of my comrade, no, my most loyal friend, in pain was too much for me. I tore my eyes away from him, focusing on Ayumi.
"Ayumi?" I gasped, coughing lowly as I looked up at Ayumi's body. Her skin was an astonishing black, her hair extremely white and blood red wings made of flowers popped out from her back. She heard me say her name and turned to me, her pupils a fiery red. She gave me a reassuring smile.
"I'll take it from here." I nodded, my head already light headed. Ayumi had this. She'll destroy Orochimaru, finish him off, and she'll feel good about herself. Then, she can be Ayumi. She can be mine…
Everything turned a pitch black as I fainted.
~Ayumi's Pov~
"Had enough?" I shouted angrily, feeling the chakra depleting from my body. I couldn't show I was weakening. I had to put a mask on. I had to play it strong.
"I was correct about choosing your body," Orochimaru said, picking himself up off the ground. "But it seems my time is up, for now. Don't think you won this one, Ayumi. I'll come back, and stronger than ever as well." With that, he shot a last attack at my chest, causing me to fall to the ground next to Kiba and Akamaru. By the time I picked myself up, my energy was gone, I was back to normal, but more importantly, Orochimaru was gone.
"Kiba!" I shouted after much silence, kneeling to his side. At that moment, I thought the worst. I thought he was dead. "K-Kiba… P-Please wake up!" I shouted, my tears falling on his cheek. I gently rubbed them away, pushing his shoulder lightly. "Wake… up…"
"Ayumi?" I shot my head up to see a girl. I knew her from somewhere, but I just...
"Sakura? Sakura Haruno?"
"That's me," she replied cautiously. She tore her green eyes away from me and looked at Kiba. "Did you…"
"No! I would never… Sakura, please help me! Call Tsunade or something, just please… help." Her eyes narrowed at the sound of my pleads. She crossed her arms, looking at me suspiciously.
"Why should I listen to you?" All of these years of tormenting people were finally coming back to bite me in the ass.
"Because… I'm asking for your help. When have I ever asked for anyone's help?" Her face looked perplexed, until she finally sighed, walking over to me and kneeling over Kiba.
"I'll try and heal him, for now. You go call for back up."
"I don't want to leave him," I said meekly. Sakura looked about ready to protest, until she rested her eyes against mine.
"Fine. I'll go call them."
~x~
"Is he okay?" I asked frantically, Akamaru in my arms. Sakura nodded, pointing a thumb at the door behind her.
"He's in there. You can go ahead and visit him." I muttered my thanks and walked forward, stopping when I felt a firm grip on my shoulder. I turned my head towards Sakura. "What happened?"
"Ask Tsunade," was all I said before shoving her hand away and walking into Kiba's room.
Akamaru barked joyously at the sight of his master, jumping out of my arms and onto Kiba's bed. Kiba laughed lightly as Akamaru licked his cheek and curled up into a ball against his chest. The sound of Kiba's laughter made me sigh in relief.
"You're okay," Kiba said, smiling at me. I looked at him in disbelief.
"I'm okay? You're the one lying on a hospital bed!" I exclaimed. Kiba laughed.
"I was just worried about you. Come here." I walked over to him, about to take a seat next to him when he grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the bed.
"What're y-"
"Relax!" Kiba laughed, pulling me into a tight hug with Akamaru trapped in the middle. I took his advice, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around his waist. We stayed there, in silence, until Kiba kissed my forehead gently, causing me to blush.
"I love you."
I don't know what it was about him, but he… changed me. He tore this wall I built around me. The wall I had built was blocking everyone from getting to me, so they couldn't kick me around anymore. But Kiba… He had enough courage to climb that wall and break it, showing me that I shouldn't be this tough person, only myself. My life used to be a living Hell, but he turned it from Hell to Heaven.
"I love you too," I whispered back, pulling him into a deep kiss.