DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANYTHING RELATED
KITSUNE OF THE SNAKE
CHAPTER 2: A NEW START
Orochimaru, Anko, and Sora made their way through the forest quickly. The two older members of the group, jumped quickly from tree to tree. Sora was riding on Orochimaru's back, seeing as how she was too young to keep up on her own and was tired from the events of the night previous. The Snake Sannin smiled as a small cave came into view, as did Anko.
"Ah…" the teenager sighed. "Home at last!"
Sora looked up, over Orochimaru's left shoulder. Her ears twitched a bit as she spotted the cave, gazing at it in confusion. She looked over at Anko, pointing at the cave.
"You live in a cave?" Sora asked, tilting her head a bit.
"Heh… Not quite, Sora-chan…" Orochimaru chuckled. "This is just the entrance to Otogakure."
The three of them walked into the cave. It looked much like your ordinary one, dark, damp, and a bit creepy. Sora tightened her grip on Orochimaru a bit, her ears drooping a bit, and tail wrapping around the Sannin's neck, though not enough to choke him or anything like that. He sighed as he reached up with one hand, patting the girl on the back of the head.
"S-Sumimasen…" Sora mumbled as she lightened her grip a little.
"It's alright, Sora-chan…" Orochimaru replied. "We'll be in the village before you know it."
The three of them kept moving slowly in the cave, up until they reached a dead-end. Orochimaru carefully bent down, allowing Sora to step down onto the ground. The small blonde looked around, scratching behind her ear in the process.
"I don't understand…" she began. "Why'd we stop?"
"You'll see…" Anko replied with a grin. "This is my favorite part of coming home… Well, one of them anyways." Sora blinked in confusion at this, causing Anko to smile wider. "Just watch!"
Orochimaru went through a quick series of hand signs, and slammed his palm against the rock wall in front of them. The walls of the cave began to shake. Sora looked quite terrified, and grabbed hold of Anko's leg as she hid behind the teenager. The said girl put an arm on the child's shoulder, and smiled.
"Keep watching, this is the best part!" she told Sora.
Sora nodded, and slowly peeked around Anko's leg, and her eyes widened at the display. The wall in front of them had slowly began to split apart and move aside. A bright light, obviously that of the sun, began to shine through the widening crack. Sora winced and shielded her eyes with her arm, but still kept watching with some excitement. The shaking soon stopped, and what remained before them was the sunlight, gleaming down upon a village. Sora stepped out from behind Anko all the way, her mouth hanging open in amazement.
"Not bad, huh?" Anko asked Sora. "We do this so none of our enemies will be able to find us."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"This is our home, and your new one, Sora-chan…" Orochimaru replied as he began to walk forward, taking the small girl's hand in his own. "Welcome to Otogakure, the place where your new life will begin."
Sora walked into the light and looked around at the village before them. She had to admit, that when the three of them walked into a cave, this is what she was not expecting. The village before them was much like Konoha looked. Various people walked around, smiling and talking. There were shops, houses, and a tower much like that of Konoha's in the middle of the village. There were several things missing though. One of those being the hateful glares coming from the villagers. They didn't scowl as Sora walked by. In fact, many smiled at her, and greeted her. The girl was quite confused by this, as evident in her eyes when she looked up at Orochimaru. The Sannin smiled, and patted her shoulder.
"You won't find the hate here that was so strong in Konoha, Sora-chan." he told her. "Many of us that live in Otogakure, have endured such things. We have come together because of that, and know to treat our fellow man and woman with respect and caring…"
Sora thought about this for a moment. She found a small smile coming to her lips. Was she happy? She hadn't felt this way in such a long time, she couldn't remember. Orochimaru saw this, and returned the smile. Sora nodded, and began to ease up once more. The Sannin looked over at Anko and nodded.
"I can handle things from here, Anko-chan…" he said. "You go rest up, and I shall see you later."
The teenager nodded and made her way down a different street, leaving Orochimaru and Sora to themselves. The girl looked a little sad that Anko was leaving, but Orochimaru assured her that everything was going to be alright.
"You know, Sora-chan… You are not the first child I've saved." the Sannin began.
"W-What do you mean, Orochimaru-sama?" Sora asked.
"There have been others like you…" Orochimaru continued. "Ones who were hated for no reason. Those who were constantly chased, beaten, and hurt… And I took it upon myself to save them, and give them a new start."
"New start?" Sora replied in question.
"Hai…" Orochimaru with a nod as the two walked into a tall tower. "Some of these children, decided to live in the village as normal children, never having to worry about the pain of being hated or feared… However, there are others… Those who decided to repay my kindness by becoming a shinobi of Otogakure, as well as to show their village just what kind of mistake they made."
"I don't get it, Orochimaru-sama…" the small Kitsune girl replied.
"Sora-chan… Tell me." Orochimaru said as he knelt down on one knee, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. "How do you feel about those in Konoha, the ones who called you those names? What about the mobs and beatings?"
Sora looked down for a moment, as if deep in thought. Her fox ears drooped a bit, and her tail wrapped itself around her waist. She even went as far as to scratch the whisker-like markings on her cheek.
"It w-was scary…" Sora responded. "I didn't like it at all?"
"Is that all?" Orochimaru asked. "I think there's something more to it… Did you not hate it… You did, didn't you. You hated the stares. You hated being avoided. You hated being beaten, taunted, frightened…"
"I did… I did…" Sora replied quietly. "I hated it… I hated them!"
Orochimaru smiled at the girl's declaration.
"Do you know why they were that way to you, Sora-chan?" Orochimaru asked.
Sora looked confused. Her ears perked up, and her tail fell back around her feet.
"You mean… There was a reason?" Sora asked.
"Hai, Sora-chan…" Orochimaru replied. "There was a reason. Would you care to know what that was?"
Sora nodded slowly.
"You see Sora-chan… Six years ago, a terrible monster, known as the Kyuubi, otherwise known as the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, attacked Konoha. It was an evil beast, that attacked and killed many innocent people. The only way it could be stopped, was for it to be sealed within the body of an innocent, newborn baby…" Orochimaru explained.
"Wait… You… Do you mean…" Sora began to piece together.
"Hai, Sora-chan." Orochimaru continued. "This baby… was you…"
"But why?!" the girl demanded to know. "Why me?!"
"That… I'm afraid I cannot tell you, Sora-chan." Orochimaru replied. "However, I do know this… That village… The one YOU saved, by having the demon sealed within you… betrayed you."
"Betrayed?" Sora asked back.
"Indeed…" Orochimaru replied. "You should be regarded as a hero, but they… They wanted you dead, and would do anything to destroy you. So tell me, Sora-chan… Knowing this… How do you feel?"
"Angry… I'm… I'm so mad… I hate them! All of them! Even the old man, all he did was lie!" Sora responded.
"Hai… Now, Sora-chan, I will ask you once more… What do you want to do? Do you want to become strong and get them back?"
"Hai, Orochimaru-sama…" Sora replied, with a hate filled voice and ice cold eyes. "Please… Help me get revenge…"
"Good girl…" Orochimaru replied, as he made a set of hand signs. "I did some research, and something special just for you, to help you get stronger… But I will not lie… It will hurt a bit… Are you ready, Sora-chan?"
"Hai, Orochimaru-sama…" Sora replied. "I will do anything…"
Orochimaru smiled. He leaned forward slowly, and began to bite the skin on the back of Sora's neck. The girl shivered, and fell forward as she felt the snake-like fangs of Orochimaru sink into her skin, and then slowly rise back out. Three black markings began to appear on the skin of the girl, and slowly, they formed an upside down, claw mark-like symbol. She screamed in pain, clutching her shoulder, her free hand reaching out for Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama… It hurts…" she whispered.
"I know, child…" the Sannin replied in a sinister voice. "But it is all for the best…"
--
The Sandaime sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Another mountain of paperwork sat on his desk, waiting to be filled out, and he could already feel his hand cramping up. A small puff of smoke left his pipe, before he rose from his seat, and walked over to the window in his office. He looked out, gazing at the village of Konoha with a feeling of sickness forming in his stomach, as he thought about the findings in the one alley this morning.
"Sora…" he mused. "I hope you are safe."
He turned around just in time to see a swirl of leaves rotate around the center of the room. From within them, appeared a man in an ANBU uniform, with a wolf mask covering his face. The man removed his mask, revealing one normal eye, and one red and black one. A cloth mask covered the lower half of his face, and his silver colored hair stood up at an angle.
"Was there any luck, Hatake Kakashi?" The Sandaime asked as he looked back out the window.
"I'm afraid not…" Kakashi replied with a sigh. "We searched the area of… last night's slaughter several times, and the area surrounding the outskirts of Konoha, all the way to the Valley of the End, but… I'm afraid there was no sign of dem… I mean, Uzumaki. Some of the ANBU and a few of the Jounnin are still looking, but things do not look too promising right now."
"I see…" the Hokage replied as he took another puff of his pipe, and turned to face Kakashi. "Please give the area one more look over, Kakashi."
The young ANBU nodded and bowed, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. The Sandaime sighed again as he returned to his desk, and slowly began to work on the paperwork. He paused for just a moment, as his eyes looked out another window, which happened to show the Hokage's Monument outside. The old man's eyes locked with those of the last Hokage's face, and he sighed again.
"Gomen, Minato… I am afraid I could not save your legacy from hate or harm…" the old man said. "I am indeed, nothing more than a failure…"
--
And there's chapter two! I know it's probably a little shorter than most would like, but I promise the next one will be much longer. Also, expect the next chapter of Uzumaki Naruto, Genin of Team Ten to be updated soon. Read, review, and I'll see you all in the next chapter, which will introduce the Sound Four!
