Man. I am on a roll here.
Newest Naruto fanfic- hope you enjoy!
Picture of the girls can be found on my deviant account- link is on my profile!
And just incase anyone is confused- the first part, with Orochimaru- is set to just before the beginning of Naruto. Hence why he still has use of his arms, and why Kabuto isn't with him. The second part, with Tsunade- jumps to just AFTER Naruto, when he sets out with Jiraiya.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto.
I however- own the 6 Original Female Characters!
"Lord Orochimaru."
The older shinobi looked up from his current experiment- as it twitched unconsciously on the metal table. His eyes narrowed in slight annoyance at being interrupted, but curiosity welled within him.
"Yes?"
"You asked me to report if anything happened with E30-294."
"Good news?" The snake-shinobi's heartbeat increased slightly- as hope rose.
"Eh… I'm… I'm afraid not my Lord. Things have taken a bad turn…" Just like that—the hope was gone. Annoyance and irritation swelled within him. Wordlessly, Orochimaru walked past his subordinate— and down the many halls towards the experimentation room in question.
"If only Kabuto were here— he could have figured a way to reverse any Ill turn this took," Orochimaru frowned," I've spent years on this—how could it have gone awry?" Opening the door, the Sound leader stepped into the laboratory and surveyed each container in distain. It was obvious each of the subjects were slowly falling. The glow from their unique curse mark was slowly fading. One was slumped on the bottom of the capsule. Two other were losing their color all together- while another was starting to slowly sink to the bottom. The air bubbles that proved they were alive were starting to disappear, and the green-glow of the liquid was slowly darkening.
"Tch," Orochimaru frowned, as he shrugged and walked back to the door. Flipping the switch- the room darkened, with the exception of the faint glow from the capsules.
"Back to the beginning—again," Orochimaru thought, as he made his way back to his awaiting experiment," Next time—I'll get it right."
0o0o0o
Tsunade sat in her chair, looking out the window at the village.
Her village.
Even though a year had passed- the older kunoichi still couldn't believe she had actually done the one thing she swore she wouldn't. She became the Hokage.
"For Nawaki… for Dan…" Tsunade reminded herself.
"Lady Tsunade! We've got a report from the intel team!" Shizune exclaimed, bursting through the door quickly and running up to the desk. Tsunade slowly spun the chair around, and extended her hand to take the report from her subordinate. As she read, her brow furrowed and she found it hard to swallow.
"Still up to no good, eh Orochimaru?" she thought, as she placed the scroll down on the desk and leaned back into her chair; she then spoke to Shizune," It seems they found another hide-out that Orochimaru has used. They marked it on the map and moved on in search of more. Seems they don't want to disturb any of the possible things he left behind."
"What will we do?"
Folding her hands across her stomach, Tsunade thought about it. No doubt there were no survivors in the place. Even if there were—they were no doubt close to death or had gone insane. Only one person came to mind, and so she decided to give it a try.
"Tenzou."
In an instant, the masked ANBU appeared, kneeling before the desk," Lady Hokage?"
"One of the intel teams have found another of Orochimaru's hideouts. Looks to be abandon, but we need to be sure. Take this map and search it. Destroy anything that looks remotely dangerous. Find anything that might point us to where he went next."
"Understood, Lady Tsunade." The ANBU took the map on the desk and disappeared just as quickly as he appeared.
"Lady Tsunade…" Shizune began, uncertainly," Do you think it a good idea—to send him, with his past and all?"
"His past is exactly why I am sending him," Tsunade explained," If there are any survivors in there… he will connect to them… maybe keep them from attacking… Who knows. Maybe I'm just hoping for no more experimental casualties… God knows the pain he inflicted into everyone he's experimented on in his years." Her voice trailed off as she got lost in her memories again—and Shizune left her be, knowing better to question her twice.
0o0o0o0o
Tenzou walked along the dark corridors, keeping alert to everything around him. Orochimaru's abandon facilities were no stranger to Tenzou—and he knew to expect anything.
"Seems to have been abandon for some time," Tenzou noted, brushing past some cobwebs as he looked into a dark room. He had no idea how long he had been searching the place- but he wasn't about to give up now. Something scampered around behind him- causing him to spin around quickly and thrust his arms out, as wood blocks flew from his palms instinctively- until he saw what it was.
"Really Tenzou? A rat?" He sweat dropped, bringing the wood back into his body and lowering his hands. Sighing, he continued on, looking into every room— even those that were locked.
Locked by wooden doors.
A part of him scoffed at the mentality of it, as he drew a hand away from one of the doors—and continued. The next door he opened, he could hear the all too familiar sound plain as day.
The swirling, swishing sound of water. Blindly running a hand over the walls near the door, he found the switch and flipped it. As he turned his attention back to the sound— Tenzou stopped short, his breathing hitched. A part of him didn't know what to expect.
A giant capsule with a snake? Sure—that would be a definite. It's Orochimaru's facilities after all.
Six normal sized capsules with a body in each, resting near the bottom?
That was something he never expected to see again. Just the sight caused a recall of memories he had long since locked away. The dark green liquid reminded him of all the others he had lost…. All the others that didn't survive.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Tenzou walked into the room and surveyed each capsule closely—silently hoping. A part of him hoped for survivors. The other—hoped for death; death would mean the end of their pain and suffering. He noticed they all had a mark—in different spots. One on the shoulder, a few on the leg, the stomach—and as he came to the final one, he blushed crimson as he noticed her mark. Directly in the middle of her chest. Clearing his throat, Tenzou went to stand up but stopped short.
"Did she just- No, I was seeing things…." Tenzou murmured, shaking his head. Then he saw it. The air bubble that floated from her resting spot—all the way to the top of the container. His eyes widened in surprise, as he knelt back down and rubbed the dirt off the glass.
"H-hello? Can you hear me in there?!" Tenzou asked, slightly feeling like a fool for doing so. There was no way she could-
Another air bubble floated to the top and he shot up from the floor.
A survivor? How though? This place had been abandon for who knows how long. Shaking his head, Tenzou outstretched his hands- as a wood stake shot out from his palm. It collided with the glass, causing a fracture to spider out. Retracting the stake, he sent another to a higher spot on the capsule. More fractures. A third stake collided in-between the two—causing the whole glass capsule to shatter. The dark green liquid washed over the floor as Tenzou raced to the girls' side—worry coursing through his veins.
"Time to wake up," Tenzou told her, unplugging the cords from the skin close to her neck. Then he noticed the mark—only to cause him to blush once more. It began to glow a soft yellow color- as the woman in his arms began to tremble. He held her close, hoping warmth of another would help her come back to consciousness. The trembling increased- her chest rising and falling with uneven breathing- until she began to cough. Green liquid spilt from her mouth as she struggled to calm down.
"It's okay, you're safe now," Tenzou murmured gently—as her eyes opened. Brown eyes stared into his own. He could see the emotions running through her.
Confusion.
Wonder.
Fear.
Curiosity.
Her hand slowly rose up and reached for his face. It wasn't until Tenzou didn't feel her skin that he realized he still had his ANBU mask on.
"Are you alright?" he asked, and she slowly nodded, looking around at their surroundings. When her eyes landed on another of the capsules—her arm shot out, tightly grabbing onto his upper arm. Grunts were all she could manage- as she tried pushing him away. Her panicked eyes reconnected to his, and she desperately tried pushing him away once more, pointing towards the other capsule.
"They didn't—" he couldn't finish, as the brunette before him shook her head emphatically, pointing wildly towards the capsule. Tears brimmed her eyes, as she pushed away from him and crawled towards the tall glass. She paid no mind to the glass shards sticking to her skin or the blood that began trickling to the floor. Tenzou quickly followed her, attempting to stop her from causing more damage to herself. Her shaking hands slid across the glass, as blood smeared across it instead. Tenzou watched silently as she stared into the capsule, waiting silently.
"Must be her sister…" Tenzou thought, allowing her time to grieve. That was until he noticed the faint glow. The girl on the ground turned around to him— the plea in her eyes evident. Wordlessly, Tenzou stood up and made quick work of the glass capsule. With the third stake, the glass shattered and the green liquid washed over the floor—joining the liquid from the first container. The first brunette reached desperately for the other girl, as Tenzou walked over and gently held her close.
The mark on her shoulder was glowing a gentle off-white color, as her body trembled in his arms. As she coughed up the liquid in her lungs, Tenzou stared at the other girl—thinking back to how she seemed insistent he go to the other capsule.
"How did she know… that this girl also survived?"
As the second brunette gained her conscious mind, she looked around. When she saw Tenzou holding her- her face became extremely red, as she avoided his eyes and squirmed uncertainly. The first female began tapping on his leg—to get his attention, probably—as he looked at her. She gestured to the other capsules, then pushed on his leg again. This time—he wasn't going to question her sanity.