A/N:Hey. Just a few notes before this starts.
I'm new to this. Any tips, tricks - just reviews in general are greatly appreciated.
The changes to the timeline have happened before the start of this story- characters might act OOC for no directly apparent reason
I only acknowledge some fillers/movies. It should be pretty obvious which ones once the become relevant
*O*O*O*O*
I don't own Naruto
01.05.2018: minor corrections(the site doesn't seem to like my old line-breaks, sorry if this was hard to read before)
*O*O*O*O*
Chapter 1 - Interrogation
While she wouldn't admit it, Tayuya actually was a bit scared.
Here she was in a bland interrogation room, that, like many others, didn't have any furniture except a single table and two chairs.
It wasn't anywhere close to her first time in this room - since her capture there had not been a day where she wasn't here and being interrogated.
Not that they ever got something out of her.
But today, today was different.
No guards in the room or at the door, no shackles or other restraints. The guard that shoved her inside seemed a bit out of it but this was just insane.
There were kunai and shuriken lying on the table when she entered. It's not that she hadn't heard of something like this before - Orochimaru loved giving his victims hope - but this was way too obvious.
Not even mentioning that her chakra wasn't sealed.
Scratching one kunai with another, she watched the hardened blade of one create a slight line on the not-quite as hard body of the other weapon.
These were real. This didn't make sense, you don't give a prisoner real weapons.
The only thing that remained locked was her curse mark, but she appreciated the absence of the constant stinging. Even the periodic pulsing that replaced it was marginally better.
Still, for some reason those asswipes thought that she wouldn't be able to hurt whoever was going to enter through that door.
It was the only probable cause, but still was no reason to give her a chance.
While thinking all of this, she continued staring at the door and thus could easily see the person entering.
His eyes were blue, not red, his pupils were normal as well. There was no sign of the canine like teeth and his face spoke of innocence instead of the battle-hardened killer she remembered. The entirety of his oppressive aura wasn't there, but still.
But still she just couldn't suppress shivering at the memory of that horrifying voice she had heard back then.
To her dismay, he chose that moment to speak.
"Hey."
It was not a voice one would associate with the boy's happy expression. It was the deep, growling voice of a monster.
Hearing that voice again, her mind went blank.
***Two weeks prior***
The forest of death
Tayuya watched as Kimimaro, in disguise, went off to "take care" of some unfortunate chunin-wannabes. She almost let out her obligatory complaint, before stopping herself, having remembered just who she was in company of.
"Tayuya-chan" her master hissed "Are you ready? I need absolute calm to have a nice long talk with Sasuke-kun"
"Y-Yes Orochimaru-sama!" she cursed herself for stuttering, before she closed her eyes momentarily to focus on her target's chakra.
Not wasting any more time, Tayuya jumped away towards where she could feel the Uchiha's chakra. She soon caught up with him and his group, consisting of a pink haired girl and an orange-wearing blonde.
The moment she got the group into view, she took out her flute and started playing.
The melody was fast, and far less sinister than what she usually would play - not that it didn't still sound threatening. As the song continued, it gained more tempo, and became somewhat foreboding as she started to send chakra with the tunes.
Illusion: False danger
When it hit, the effects were instantaneous. Sasuke continued on, completely oblivious to his teammate's reaction, while said teammates avoided non-existent attacks.
Tayuya watched Orochimaru and the Uchiha leave, before looking back to the other two - just to stare directly into two red eyes with slit like pupils.
Illusion: Friend of my enemy
Immediately switching her tune, she looked on as the pink haired girl - pinkie - attacked the orange-clad boy. Just for her to get knocked out by a hit to the neck.
Tayuya growled a bit, annoyed that she had given her a nickname for nothing.
However she soon had to focus again as the blond one spawned twenty-something shadow clones. Not having the luxury to awe at the amount of chakra one would need for that, her tune changed as she immediately cast another genjutsu.
Demonic Illusion: Great Disturbance
A slight grin formed on her face as ten of them ran into trees and dispelled with a satisfying "poof". And the shithead was down a few clones.
Her enemy wouldn't make it that easy for her however.
The remaining clones touched a spot on their left arm, and she could feel her jutsu breaking. Over a dozen pairs of deep blue eyes looked at her with a determination she would never admit to feel quite unnerving.
Instantly she tried again, just to be completely blocked, the blonde seemingly not even needing a hand seal.
She frowned. No one with that much chakra should have the control to break any of her's. Much less a genin.
Then her sensitive hearing picked up steps.
She hadn't moved since the beginning. Big mistake, normally at least - but she wouldn't need tactics for a genin.
A clone running up the tree. Handful of kunai for him.
He avoided the first few. One lightly grazed his arm, making a bit of blood drip out. The original then.
A clone jumped at her, attempting an axe kick.
Turn slightly to avoid leg. Stab with kunai.
The original came up, kunai ready. Jump backwards.
A kick to her back. She gets thrown of course, barely managing to stick to the tree she crashed against. The real one was making his way towards her.
She felt the tingly feeling at the back of her neck.
Tayuya clashed with the original, twirling in the air to avoid his punch and stabbed his arm with a kunai. She used her flute like a club, hitting him in the side, he winced in pain but still managed to scratch her left arm with a shuriken
A slight stinging spread along her back.
Someone tries to grab her, but she rips her arm free, rough enough to pop the clone with the movement. This however made her miss the tree, sending her falling to the ground. Although she managed to somewhat cushion her fall, her head still hit a tree trunk when she rolled the momentum off.
As she shook her head to stop the insistent ringing, a finger softly moved along the same arm that had been attacked before.
She instantly froze up.
And not because of fear, shock, or surprise.
Neither because of the feeling that had spread and now felt like the back of her neck and shoulders was burning.
No, she simply couldn't move. At all.
"While that was a decent fight the ending was kind of anticlimactic, wasn't it?" he said in a childish tone, cradling his injured arm with his fine one and a pout on his face.
He was mocking her. Some god damn brat was mocking her.
Well fuck that.
The dam broke. From her curse mark jagged, zigzag lines started to spread over her body. The power she had been granted spread through her limbs. Although still restricted, she noticed her ability to move slowly returning to her. Standing up from the crouch she landed in, Tayuya grabbed a kunai from her pouch.
"You undergrown fucker are going to fucking regret ever fuc-"
Before her sentence was even finished, she turned completely immobile again, just to be forced to stare into the happy eyes of the dumbly grinning idiot in front of her, the seriousness in his eyes now having completely vanished.
"Ne, Nee-chan? What am I going to regret?"
Tayuya was furious. Using the curse mark at all against a genin was bad enough - not to mention the second stage - however she would never let herself get taunted by some random brat. The repercussions could be dealt with later, at this moment all she wanted was to brutally murder him.
The lines that covered her body thickened to the point her skin became completely black , her eyes turned golden and she felt as the horns grew out of her head. Glaring bloody murder, she stepped in.
A punch to the gut, making his body fold around her fist.
A knee to the chin. His mouth spew blood as his body was rocked backwards.
A step forward, a kunai to the heart. All before he even hit the floor.
Not managing to land properly, he fell down and rolled up in a fetal position, coughing up blood with every pained breath.
"So this is all?" she asked, a mocking tone evident in her voice "Really fucking disappointing - I can't believe I went all out for you jackass kid." she accentuated the end of the sentence with a kick to the ribs - and got rewarded by a satisfying … "poof?"
Not the sound of bones cracking, the sound of a leg impacting flesh but a simple "poof". - the sound she had heard a dozen times the last few minutes - that of a shadow clone dispelling.
Shocked for a moment, she only twirled around when the sound of somebody landing on the forest floor resounded behind her.
A mistake.
Tayuya stopped mit motion when his eyes met hers. His eyes showed no emotion, which contrasted heavily with the sadistic expression on other parts of his face. The slitted pupils were back, surrounded by gleaming red eyes. Accentuating the look were long fangs she clearly saw in the demonic grin he gave her - as well as an orange aura that began forming around him.
"So this is your best?" his voice changed as he spoke, becoming a deep demonic growl that definitely shouldn't be produced by a human mouth "Then I'll have to get serious as well."
And her world went dark.
*O*O*O*O*
"Hey" the boy tilted his head "You still there?"
Tayuya reeled back, the tension that had built in her body suddenly dissipating. She clutched a kunai in her hand, her other moving to the shuriken pouch.
"Hey hey girl - I'm not here to fight. Just stay calm.." his pupils momentarily turned again, giving Tayuya a flash of their red color "...and this doesn't need to get ugly."
She continued to stare at him with contempt, not even flinching at the small amount of demonic chakra that momentarily filled the room.
Sighing, shithead - although she didn't want to imagine what would happen to her if she actually called him that right now - sat down on the opposite side of the table, placing his elbows on it and motioning for her to do the same.
Begrudgingly putting away her weapons, Tayuya carefully moved to her chair, sitting with her hands resting on her knees.
While on the outside, she had managed to put up a facade, her mind was rumbling. Her feelings were a mess - her body was shaking in a combination of anticipation and fear.
Him shifting the position he sat in pulled her out oh her mind.
He took a deep breath. In. And out.
The boy stretched his arm towards her, as if telling her to do the same.
Still completely rigid, Tayuya just sat there, her eyes boring into his, unmoving - at least until an enormous wave of chakra hit her out of her stupor, almost making her jump back.
Just now noticing his gesture, she took a breath. In. Out.
Grabbing her knees in her hands, she used the grip to completely stop the shivering.
"So you've finally calmed down somewhat?" Tayuya just nodded meekly "So are you going to answer my questions?" Tayuya opened her mouth, before feeling the quivering of her jaw and quickly shutting it again, not trusting herself to speak properly. Insulting him wasn't the best idea at the moment. She shook her head.
The blonde boy sighed "Look, this can be way easier if you cooperate."
An irritated sigh escaped her as she heard that sentence - for what must have been the tenth time. She had no problem that the motion conveyed her annoyance perfectly
"Maybe for you, shithead.", however was meant to be a thought. The only things that stopped her from clasping her hands to her mouth before apologizing were her pride, the fear of what the snake would do if he found out, and the genuinely thoughtful face of her 'interrogator'.
"Well then..." totally ignoring her insult, he set his chin on his hands, his elbows placed on the table "Okay. You surely have some things you want to know, right?"
Tayuya hesitantly nodded, somehow even more confused at the whole situation.
"Will you answer me a few simple questions if I answer yours?"
Tayuya stopped for a moment. She hadn't heard anything of the outside in the ten days since she woke up. She didn't even know what day it was, besides if he didn't want anything to sensitive, she wouldn't be in danger anyways.
She nodded
At that movement, the boy seemed to become exceedingly happy. He pushed himself straight in his chair. "That's great!" he clasped his hands in front of him, seeming far to positive about all this. This however, didn't last long. He laid his arms back on the table and his face turned into a perfect picture of passiveness. He spoke with what sounded like slight sarcasm - something that made absolutely no sense in the situation.
"I want your name, rank and skill level, also your main skill and how long you've had the curse mark. Your age as well."
After she confirmed in her head that there was no sarcasm in the sentence's actual content, Tayuya got over the momentary shock at his seemingly unstable personality and answered.
"Tayuya, Tayuya of the north - one of Orochimaru's bodyguards" the explanation only came as she noticed a quirked eyebrow on the blonde's face "low jonin i suppose, genjutsu specialist, had it for six years and fifteen."
That was just fine with her, nothing anybody couldn't get with a bit of prying. What wasn't fine with her was the sudden surge of malevolent chakra that flooded the room.
"I don't like being lied to" his voice was bordering on demonic again and his expression was hardened.
"Wait wait wait!" Tayuya couldn't help shaking her hands defensively in front of her, her instincts screaming at her not to mess with this boy "I'm not lying!"
His eyes started to take on a red tint "Don't test my patience."
Tayuya, still shielding her face with both arms, was raking her brain for what had caused this. She hadn't lied - there was nothing to lie over, unless "I don't know my age." it wasn't really lying, but she wasn't able to think of something else that would warrant his response..
Seemingly calmed down, his face turned stoic again. "That was all?" The invisible pressure also left with his irritation.
"Yes," Tayuya managed to speak calmly again, letting out a relieved sigh despite herself.
She almost got killed because of that stupid shit. Fucking memory loss.
Her interrogator nodded slightly, seemingly to himself, then proceeded to stare at her for a while before speaking again. "Your questions?"
"What happened to the people with me?" She blurted out, not necessarily expecting an answer, and continued in a slightly hushed voice "Also who- no more like what are you?"
Her opposition didn't show any visible reaction and answered immediately "Kimimaro - he was kind enough to tell his name those he attacked - escaped, however not before having killed nineteen genin and wounding two more" Tayuya winced at the information, earning herself a scowl "Even if they had been from your village, you wouldn't react that excessively - so kindly don't think you can sympathy your way out of here" visibly relaxing her expression, Tayuya shrugged, seeing no problem with trying.
He sighed "Whatever. The name's Naruto Uzumaki" he used one of his hands to scratch the whisker markings on his cheek "I think it would be better to just show you the rest."
Without her having time to question him, her vision blurred and her mind spun for a moment.
*O*O*O*O*
Tayuya looked around her. She was within the forest of death, scanning her surroundings while perched on a branch. A slight flash of light in her peripheral vision caught her eye. When her head turned toward it, she noticed that it was caused by the glowing of a sealing tag placed on the trunk of the tree. She knew that this meant she had to move. After she ripped the piece of paper off the tree, she went of into a direction that she knew to be the right one.
Tayuya idly wondered how she was so sure where to go.
She was ripped out of her wondering when a rush of sensations hit her. While she had somehow not noticed them till then, they now almost overwhelmed her. After she got over the abundant smell of grass, leaves and bark, she noticed other, more suppressed ones. A number of animals, some for people, even insects and… snakes.
She inwardly grimaced at the stench. Contrary to the others, this was something she was all too familiar with. The putrid, vomit-inducing stench of snakes. His stench.
Something in the back of her mind told her that snakes usually don't smell like that.
However, before Tayuya could continue to explore her newly-enhanced senses, she landed on a branch from which she could see into a medium sized clearing. In the middle of said clearing, she saw him: The Uzumaki was kneeling on the forest floor, using a brush to write something - on the limb form of her body.
For a short moment, Tayuya was wondering if she had an out-of-body experience, however her thought process was again thrown apart when she noticed the hand she was using to lean against the tree.
Not even mentioning how it looked too masculine and also a bit too young to belong to her, but she seemed to be wearing a jacket. Not just any jacket mind you - but a light shinobi jacket… in the most devastating shade of kill-me orange.
Tayuya, being the person she is, had a very creative response to the situation.
"What the everfucking buttsoaring shitpile of a fuck?!"
That however, seems a bit excessive.
*O*O*O*O*
Naruto stood up after he finished the brush strokes. As he put away his sealing utensils, he could smell the snake sannin closing in.
He spent a brief contemplation if this was the best idea, however was interrupted by a figure leaping onto the clearing.
Orochimaru still had some scorched remains of skin from his disguise on him. His skin, however, was unblemished - it even had a slimy sheen to it.
"Now, now kid" the snake hissed more than he talked "what did your parents tell you about messing with another's property?" It was extremely uncomfortable to listen to.
"Nothing. Never met 'em" he moved his hand towards his stomach, touching his jacket with his palm.
"Then let me tea-" Orochimaru abruptly changed to an actually serious tone "You're gonna die if you do that."
Naruto had his fingers, glowing with chakra, placed along the edge of his seal, which was now visible through his clothes.
"But so will you."
There was momentary silence in the area. The snake sannin evidently wasn't used to being threatened.
As he currently was in control, Naruto decided to keep the ball rolling.
"You have something that belongs to me."
He motioned towards the unconcious girl "Seeing as we are in similar positions I want to propose a trade."
His answer was a haughty sneer "You don't actually believe I'm going to accept that, are you?"
A frown showed itself on naruto's face "No something told me you don't hold your subordinate's lives in very high regard." a slight grin split his face "A completed curse mark, however… well I think you'd be willing to hand over a bit for that."
"And why would I belive you?" the snake's voice seethed with mock, but with an undercurrent of curiosity.
"You always apply the same seal, don't you? However some survive and others don't." his foot snapped off the ground and slammed down again, the snake summon dispelling under his boot "Ever thought about why that happened?" He used his free arm to motion towards the redhead "Ever thought up a solution to it?"
While the snake sannin started to open his mouth, naruto had already carried on "Just imagine it!" the voice fit a merchant trying to sell his newest goods, it was vibrant, encouraging - and totally at odds with the situation "Whole armies with curse marks! Just imagine at all the chaos you could cause!" naruto's tone changed into a more contemplative one "Of course, they'll still only live to their thirties at most, but how many shinobi actually live that long. Plus, it's still longer than your version of it."
Orochimaru's face had switched from one of annoyance to almost visibly salviating. His voice was stoically calm."That sounds like you want an enormous compensation, kid."
"I want the kusanagi." silence prevailed for a short moment, until Naruto's merchant-voice returned "I mean, a ninjutsu lover like you doesn't necessarily need a sword, do you? Plus, no one except an Uzumaki could properly use the sword's fuinjutsu."
Orochimaru was quiet for a moment, until his head craned back, his mouth opened, to show a snake that protrude from his throat. This snake proceeded to repeat it's master's actions, producing a fairly simple looking light, double-edged blade. One of the most powerful weapons created, but so simple in design it could be confused with any ordinary blade.
The snake then proceeded to hurl the weapon past Naruto, where it impacted with a tree on the other end of the clearing with a dull thud.
The jinchuriki stepped back towards it, hand remaining on his stomach, as he moved away from the downed girl.
*O*O*O*O*
Tayuya would have liked to get angry at the scene, as she watched Orochimaru pull her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, while the boy seemed more concerned with checking the kusanagi's authenticity, however her mind seemed as eerily calm as the body she currently inhabited.
Still, a mild irritation worked its way into her mind as she was forced to watch the snake sannin take off into the treeline with her body.
She briefly wondered how she ended up in Konoha's custody if these were the events that led up to it, however was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the Uzumaki snapping the sword in his hands.
The weapon proceeded to turn into mud - because of course it would turn to mud - and its pieces got thrown aside in order for him to start a long series of hand seals.
And then the world turned white.
The blast was positively enormous. Even 'her' body, shielded by the tree trump as it was, had to stick to it with chakra to avoid getting blown off.
The destruction was devastating.
Tayuya saw this all too clearly as, without her input, she moved towards the centre of the now expanded clearing. Bark, burnt leaves and parts of trees littered the area. Some pieces were still smoldering. The orange barrier that had shielded the blonde which remained in the clearing flickered and fell away, just as he put his palms to the floor, where eight lines of kanji spread out in all directions towards the forest.
Fuinjutsu: Eight pillars evil sealing method
The kanji didn't even stop when his hands left the floor to grasp the blade stuck in his chest. In a move that would earn him a tiny bit of recognition from Tayuya, if it turned out to actually have happened, he pulled it out from his chest, before stabbing it into Orochimaru's skull.
Said person had just finished crawling out the mouth of his previous skin, which still smoldered from the explosion, and was evidently surprised when his target could not only still move, but actually plant his own blade in his head.
The body she currently inhabited moved forward quickly, not even flinching at the clone's painful memories. As she drew closer to Orochimaru, her left hand ripped the sleeve, and the bandages beneath it, off her right arm. Her gaze was forced away from the appendage, the normal inhabitant obviously knowing the intricate markings that covered it.
As she drew closer to Orochimaru, eight pitch black rods materialised above him, of which four drove themselves into his spine and one in each limb.
The markings that covered the arm flared up in an eerie grey-blue glow, while the hand became covered in a thin layer of similarly colored flame. The palm was pressed onto the snake's body, chain-like markings spreading out and covering his body.
Uzumaki fuinjutsu: History
Orochimaru's body contorted and twisted, the symbols that now covered his body seemed to separate from it, drawing it into a vaguely spherical shape. The sphere was compressed tighter, drawn into itself by an unseen force. After mere moments, the body of one of the most powerful men alive was forced into a globe of similar size to a head, the kusanagi still stuck in it.
The object, formerly still somewhat distinguishable as a corpse, turned into a dark grey, before falling as a small cloud of dust that dispersed into nothingness before it hit the ground. The sword cluttered to the floor soon after.
Tayuya was speechless.
And not in the no-control-over-my-body sorta way, but in the finally-that-bastard-died kinda way. Because of this, she would've happily screamed out her excitement - at least mentally - however the unnatural calmness overcame her again and left her as calm as the body that had just taken the fucking kusanagi from - a now dead - Orochimaru.
Still, her calmness made her notice the clone that had stepped out of the foliage - carrying her body over his shoulder.
She half expected him to go and pick up her half-charred but somehow still alive remains. This way, she at least got to see as her body got carried away towards the edge of the forest before her vision clouded again.
*O*O*O*O*
Water. Well that's just fucking great.
After she lost her vision once more, Tayuya found herself in a wide, dark area covered in an ankle-deep layer of muddy water. Looking around - she could finally control her movement again - she noted the absurd size of whatever she had found herself in, as well as a giant iron gate, which stood seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
"Okay what kind of fuckhole of a dump is this shit?" her voice was almost swallowed by the oppressive darkness. She couldn't her a single echo.
What she did hear was an amused snort from behind her. Just that this snort carried with it a gust of wind to send the surprised girl tumbling to the floor.
Even as she pushed herself up again - idly noting that her clothing seemed to dry the moment it left the water - the complaints immediately left her tongue.
"Okay you fucke…." her mouth refused service the moment Tayuya noticed just who she was going to insult, because as she turned around her eyes met a gigantic red eye with a slitted pupil - like that of a snake - or a fox.
The demon in front of her was most definitely not a snake. Her mind wasn't able of much rational thought beyond that as the full might of the Kyuubi no kitsune settled over her. The demonic presence was close enough to a physical weight that it send Tayuya's rear to meet the rocky, water-covered floor.
It's grin was disturbing. Rows of gigantic, sharp teeth formed a smirk, as it spoke with a voice even more oppressive than the one the Uzumaki used "Now what brought you here, little ninken?"
Of course. Of course he had to be a jinchuriki. That's just her luck.
She crawled backwards until her back met something hard. Turning her head just enough to identify it as the gate from earlier, she used it as support to push herself upright. As her hand tried to move between two of the bars, a forcefield sprung to life. Tayuya was knocked forward several meters. She landed face first, sprawled out on her front. A string of curses left her as she pushed herself up. The beast momentarily forgotten, she sent a death glare at the offending gate.
A deep snickering reminded her of the other occupant. The occupant she was now standing barely a meter away from.
As her gaze returned to the Kyuubi, her expression became a mixture of fear and remnants of annoyance - that door really was unnecessary - however it soon changed to curiosity at the next words.
"You know, your temper reminds me of my last partner" If it hadn't sounded so ridiculous, Tayuya would have described his expression as melancholic "Although she had the power to back it up." he stayed silent for a moment "That being said I have no interest in finding out what the kid messed up for you to end up here, so I'll just send you back. Try not being pathetic."
Tayuya contemplated if the risk was worth to insult him, however as her vision became blurry, the decision was taken from her.
*O*O*O*O*
The room's clinic white light was not appreciated. It, however was the first thing that greeted her reentering of the world of the living. Soon after, the stupidly grinning face of a certain blonde came into view. Said face, however was blurred almost beyond recognition and wobbled along with the rest of the world. After a short while with no improvement, her vision seemed to just 'snap' into place again. At about the same time, a headache made itself known.
As she cradled her head in her hands, only one phrase came to mind.
"Okay...What the fuck was that?"
*O*O*O*O*
And that's that. Thanks for reading. Leave a review. Have a unique day.
Note: I have no idea when I'll be able to update this. Don't expect regular/frequent chapters. School's a bitch.