Here is goes, my very first fanfic on this site. Please read and review for me! c:

THE BLACK KING

Chapter One: Dark Intentions

"Well Hanako, tell me what I want to hear."

"Orochimaru-sama, it worked. The girl has developed the Shikotsumyaku as you had hoped."

The shadowy figure stopped then, baring his teeth in a malicious smile. He looked down on the petite woman standing in front of him and then directed his eyes down further to the child clutching onto her leg. The girl was perhaps nine, with scarlet hair and eyes the color of spring grass. Now those eyes shifted to meet his and he smirked inwardly at her bravery as she held his gaze.

"Are you positive? I will not tolerate any mistakes in this matter," he questioned and was promptly answered by a quick nod from the woman.

Orochimaru's lips quirked into a dark smile as he noted the woman's unease. He attributed this to the fact that she was facing him without her brother for the first time. Kabuto was always near his sister when she came to report to the snake man, but this time Hanako stood alone before him. The sannin was quite a bit more intimidating without Kabuto there to reassure her; still, she did her best to hide her discomfort.

Hanako was shaken from her thoughts by the swift movement of Orochimaru bending to his knee in front of her. Her knees quivered but she stopped them by taking a small step back, leaving the child without the cover of the woman's legs. The child did not quake in fear as the man reached out a hand to touch her face. She allowed him to touch the two strikingly red dots that resided on her forehead.

"The symbol of the Kaguya clan," he spoke, indicating the dots, "The resemblance between you and Kimimaro is truly fascinating."

"Kimimaro?" the girl asked, her scarlet eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"Yes, he was your father, his death was a tragedy," Orochimaru explained frowning although his tone lacked the sympathy he tried to convey.

"Father." She said the word experimentally, getting a taste for it. "And Hanako is my mother?"

"No, Hanako is simply a caretaker, your mother was one of the many Sound ninjas that serve me."

Orochimaru reflected on the day he had asked said Sound kunoichi to seduce Kimimaro. He had found that the Kaguya man was dying and because he was the last of his clan, would be taking his unique kekkei genkai to the grave with him. Orochimaru had been very displeased at the prospect of losing the Shikotsumyaku and had hoped that the two may spawn a child with the rare bone ability.

He stood abruptly, his golden eyes still tracing over the girl in front of him. She was the fruit of his efforts; she had inherited the kekkei genkai. Akemi Kaguya, the Kaguya clan's new last of kin. Orochimaru smirked.

Ten years later

The sound of footsteps echoed through the empty stone halls as she passed into a large chamber. Under normal circumstances Akemi would have attempted to muffle the noise but Orochimaru requested to see her and so she suppressed the urge to be silent. It didn't take long for him to join her in what she assumed was the conference room. She took a seat in one of the few wooden chairs and waited for him to speak first out of respect.

"Ah, Akemi, you've grown since I last saw you," he commented before taking a seat next to her.

The woman confirmed his words with a sharp nod of her head that sent her short scarlet locks into her eyes. The reptilian man reached out a hand and brushed the hair away from her face before leaning closer to her. Akemi did her best not to flinch as his cold fingers skimmed across her cheek. His eyes roamed her face, searching for something before coming to rest on her own vivid green orbs. A smirk tugged at the end of his colorless lips and he rested back in the chair again.

"How old are you now?" Orochimaru inquired, still smirking.

"Nineteen, Orochimaru-sama."

"Yes, it's time. Find Kabuto, he'll explain your assignment."

The dark haired man rose from his seat, sending his tall shadow across Akemi's pale skin and making her look almost gray.

Akemi's mouth opened as if to question the mystique of his answer but instead she stood to face him and bowed before walking out of the room to search for the silvery haired medic. She had known that she was being summoned for a new task before she even stepped foot into the sannin's lair. However, something about Orochimaru's behavior had created an unease within her. She had always thought of him as a chilling individual but never had she seen such malice in a person's eyes. Then again she didn't see people often in general.

She did not live within the hideout mostly because Orochimaru did not care for the idea of having a child wandering the dark halls. Akemi lived instead with a woman named Hanako who had trained her in taijutsu and helped her to expose her talent for using the Shikotsumyaku. Her father had died, possibly before she was even born, so the majority of what she knew of her rare kekkei genkai she had discovered without help. Despite this setback Akemi had mastered the bone technique with ease.

Taijutsu was also relatively simple for her. She possessed massive amounts of stamina and the speed she was able to harness made her a natural. In a matter of a year she could defeat a jonin level ninja using only her kekkei genkai and taijutsu. After she won her first battle with Hanako, the woman had determined that Akemi was ready to learn ninjutsu.

Unfortunately, that marked the end of her learning curve. The Kaguya girl could not seem to grasp the concept of ninjutsu no matter how much time she spent on it. She had excellent chakra control and could mold her chakra after much practice but the art of ninjutsu evaded her for years. Eventually Hanako settled with just teaching her some basic elemental techniques which Akemi still did not possess an affinity for using.

A flash of silver caught her eye, shattering her reverie, and she directed her gaze to see Kabuto emerging from a door directly in front of her. She may have collided into him if she hadn't looked up in time to see the taller man. He smiled slightly at her in greeting as he pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, then he turned away from her and looked as if he were about to walk away. Just as she moved to put her hand on his shoulder to stop him, he turned back to face her again.

"Oh, yes, I have a mission to give you don't I?" he asked. His voice phrased it as a question but Akemi didn't answer, knowing he would launch into an explanation momentarily.

"Orochimaru-sama has decided that you will infiltrate the Akatsuki and monitor their progress in catching tailed beasts. You are not to inhibit their efforts, if anything aid them, they're eliminating a threat that our master would rather not deal with."

The scarlet haired girl took a moment to digest the information that had just been fed to her. Her infiltrate the Akatsuki? She knew exactly who they were, no further explanation required. She thought of Orochimaru's malicious eyes and understood exactly why he had seemed more fearsome today. He was entrusting her to be a spy in one of the most threatening organizations Konoha - no, the world - had ever faced. She took in a deep breath before responding.

"I accept, Kabuto-san. But how can you be sure they're recruiting?"

"We've handled that. Master has heard that they are searching for new help, it seems things have gotten difficult for them now that they're targeting more powerful jinchuriki. All you need to do is get on their radar."

"Any suggestions?"

"They typically search for ninjas around the hidden villages, seeing as that's where the majority of them are. Your best bet would be to stay around Konoha for a few weeks, chances are one of them will show up at some point."

"If I am successful, how will I communicate with you?"

"Actually, that's what this is for."

Kabuto's hand emerged from his pocket with a small ring. Akemi examined the silver item and noticed that it was carved to look like a snake devouring its tail. She recognized the symbol as the ouroboros, the serpent that swallows its own tail. Its meaning was not lost on her, it symbolized eternity, a life without end. Orochimaru's goal.

She took the ring and slid it onto each of her fingers, shaking it gently to be sure it would not come off. After testing it multiple times it came to rest on her index finger. She knew it would stay there and she silently thanked genetics for her small hands so the ring did not pinch the soft skin of her finger.

Kabuto watched her admire the simple piece of jewelry as a weak smile fought its way onto his face. He would miss Akemi while she was away and secretly he hoped she would remain safe. He had come to think of her as something like a niece to him; it made sense considering his sister acted as her mother figure. He took a step closer to her and grabbed her hand that was still fiddling with the ring. She made no movements to pull away instead looking up at him through her hair.

"You should probably learn how to use it before you play with it," Kabuto chuckled.

"Oh yeah..." Akemi blushed at her eagerness, the pink lighting up her pale skin.

"It works much like the Akatsuki rings, Orochimaru has one as well and can send you holographic messages from his ring to yours. You can view them by pulling the tail of the snake from its mouth. Its jointed in the body so it should snap open easily."

Akemi slid her hand away from his and moved it along the ring until she located the joint on the middle of the silver reptile's body. As soon as she found it she nodded her head and spoke in confirmation.

"Understood." I promise I will not disappoint you, Orochimaru-sama.