I.
The Snake's Lair. Who is Jashin?
Aoyuurei age 5 —-
I cracked my eyes open and hissed in pain as I sat up. The light was so bright it hurt and my stomach was hurting as well.
* What happened? Where am I? *
"Good you're awake. Orochimaru-sama insists you drink this." a man with long purple hair said, holding out a vial with dark green liquid in it.
"What is it?"
"Medicine; it'll make you feel better."
I nodded, downing the contents. It tasted bad, but I could handle that. The next thing I knew everything went all fuzzy and then black ...
Orochimaru —-
I was pleased with myself.
* A Kurama finally. Their clan kekkai genkai will be mine at last! *
I had plans for this boy. Just looking at him I knew he'd do well with Water release, he had the body for it. He definitely had plenty of chakra, which would be needed for other projects I had in mind. He was to be my little experiment, what I would use to further myself once things were perfected.
I was just itching to give him the Hydrification technique. It was a hiden jutsu from the Hozuki clan, but I was sure I could transfer the ability to another through the cells I'd had Kabuto collect for me. Gengetsu Hozuki was dead, what would he care if his cells were used to spread the Hydrification technique? I also wanted to see if the shark transformation I'd been working on could be put into the boy. They would give great advantages.
The idea was that with the proper transplant of cells one could gain shark-like features. I had not worked on him personally, but Kisame Hoshigaki was the first successful subject I knew of that went through the process. He had shark fangs, blue skin, an insane amount of chakra, and more physical strength than the average shinobi. Suigetsu Hozuki (a relative of Gengetsu) was going through the treatment now, one of mine. This boy would be the next subject for the 'shark project'.
I also wished to give him the ability to use Lightning release. And yes, I do know about the problem that users of the Hydrification technique have with lightning-based jutsu. I was planning to fix that as well. The shark formula I had in the works for the Kurama boy was different than the two previously mentioned shark-nin. His skin though human-like, would be resistant to Lightning release techniques. The boy's body simply would not react to it the way the other two did, becoming stronger instead of weaker when being hit by lightning.
With all this power the boy would be quite the useful tool. He would become my assassin, working alongside Kimimaro to take care of my enemies. Kabuto would teach him ways to spy and blend into crowds and villages, something which would be vital for an assassin. These skills alone would make him a deadly tool and great asset to me. He was also easy on the eyes; when he gets older I'd take him to my bed.
Aoyuurei age 10 —-
Waking was a pain as usual. It felt like trying to swim through mud with my arms tied behind my back every time I yanked myself from the world of dreams back to the world of consciousness. Most of the time I would rather stay asleep. The things about me, the new ones, did not encourage doing anything. I hated what I'd become, but that was only because I was incomplete.
Teal fins adorned my arms and legs, one attached to the back of each elbow and knee. My teeth were sharper now, small fangs instead of weak human teeth. I had an insane amount of chakra according to Orochimaru-sama. Being out of the water made me nervous, I always felt better in it where my hands and feet webbed for easier swimming and my gills actually worked. In small rooms or large crowds the gills nearly suffocated me, not enough air to sustain them. It was a wonder I could breathe out of water.
There was one more problem though. I could not gain weight to save my life. This would not bother me except that the purple haired man (Kabuto) and the snake eyed man (Orochimaru-sama) kept saying it was a bad thing. Kabuto I did not care about pleasing, but Orochimaru-sama was the one who'd saved me, I had to do everything I could to please him. I tried eating a lot, but that actually made the weight issue worse, causing me to loose more weight than I gained.
Orochimaru —-
Finally a formula that seems to work. I'd been trying for years to give the boy the Hydrification technique, but every attempt failed. He would get sick or just vomit up the cells I gave him. My theory was that the shark cells did not want to be fused with a foreign set of cells until they'd matured. And apparently now was the time. The boy was ten and the Hozuki cells were taking root, not being expelled by his body this time.
Aoyuurei —-
This new stuff Orochimaru-sama gave me makes me feel great. I don't feel like I'm trapped anymore when I'm on land. I love liquifying myself and eavesdropping on Kabuto's conversations with people. He never notices and I learn a lot. If most things Orochimaru-sama did for me were bad, this Hydrification technique is definitely good!
Aoyuurei age 12 —-
They'd been drugging me. I'd known it for a while, but there was nothing I could do about it. The stuff was in my food and the very water I habitually drank to maintain the Hydrification technique. I couldn't very well stop eating or drinking now could I?
I lay on the small bed they'd given me, idly liquifying my hands and then letting them become solid once more. This was a little game I liked to play, to see how long I could do this before getting tired. A knock on my door startled me, but I did not get up to open it. What was the point? They (snake-eyes or the purple-haired medic) were just going to hurt me again. I wanted to prolong that as long as possible. If I was lucky the bone-man would be there instead.
* Kimimaro. His name is Kimimaro remember. *
But remembering things wasn't always easy for me. Whatever drugs they were giving me made that nearly impossible. That's why I often thought of people by what they were or looked like rather than by their names. It was easier that way.
Another knock and I sighed, running a hand through my orange hair and getting up.
* Might as well see who it is before they break down the door. *
And they would too if I didn't get that door open soon.
* Please don't be snake-eyes ... *
"What took you so long?" a man with long dark hair asked, shoving me aside to get into the room.
* Why did it havta be snake-eyes? *
"My apologies Orochimaru-sama."
"I hope you're sorry. You've displeased me Kurama-chan."
I sighed inwardly, sliding the mask of indifference bone-man taught me to use when I didn't want people to know what I was thinking onto my face.
"How can I make it up to you my lord?"
"You can do as I say." he hissed, coming closer. He turned those snake's eyes on me and I suppressed a shiver of disgust.
* Why do I stay here again? He's so bloody creepy. *
"I do that already my lord."
"It's not enough!"
Now I was thoroughly confused.
* What does he expect me to do? *
And then I got a good look at him. The posture of superiority, the crossed arms, the dark glint in those eyes ...
* Oh bloody hell no ... *
"You will listen to me ..." he hissed into my ear, pressing me up against the wall.
* Why? *
"My lord?"
"You will won't you?" he asked, running his fingers along my arm lightly. I had to force myself to stay still, all my instincts were telling me to fight him. To kill him. A 'shark frenzy' as snake-eyes had dubbed the rages blood brought on - one could start any minute now. All I needed was the smell of blood, although extreme emotions such as panic or anger could trigger them too.
I wasn't sure if he noticed my turmoil or not. He nuzzled my neck, kissing me roughly. I was so surprised I didn't react at all. He drew back, slapping my cheek hard enough to bruise.
"You will listen to me!"
"Yes my lord." I said through gritted teeth. The slap hadn't so much hurt as make me angry.
* Why should I listen to this freaky-looking man anyway? He's the reason I get angry and kill anything that's alive around me when I smell blood ... *
"Pay attention," he growled as one of his hands slid into my pants. I froze, afraid to move, as he stroked me.
* Don't ... *
"I know you want me to take and use that helpless body of yours. You dream about it don't you?"
* No! *
"No Orochimaru-sama." And that was the truth.
"You lie!" Another slap then a punch to my gut had me doubling over in pain.
The snake-eyed man used that opportunity to pull my pants down and push me onto the bed. I shut my eyes, hoping this was all just a bad dream.
* He's touching me ... why's he touching me like this? *
Rough hands pulled my cheeks apart and I could feel a blunt object nudging against my ass.
* Get your hands off me! *
Orochimaru —-
I was about to enter the boy when I felt strong chakra coming from him. It made me hesitate - it was violent and intoxicating.
* He's even more desirable now ... *
I tried entering him again and that's when all hell broke loose.
It felt to me like time was standing still, the boy under me now on the other side of the room. I could barely see a silver outline around his body, what was this?
* There's no way he's fighting the drugs and genjutsu suggestion Kabuto has him under ... *
It became evident though that that's exactly what he was doing. I watched him gather clothing and supplies and then he was gone - out of the room, leaving me there alone and aching.
* It must be the swift kekkai genkai. If the rumors are true he's burned through the drugs in just the few seconds its been active. *
Aoyuurei —-
I grabbed my pants, putting them on quickly. I had no idea what had happened.
* How did I get over here so fast? *
I was on the other side of the room in two seconds flat, shoving clothing and the few supplies I'd managed to steal into a pack before leaving the room.
Paper bombs and glass vials made little noise in the pack as I shoved them in with some full water bottles. I needed the water to keep my Hydrification and other Water release techniques going. The paper bombs were used as traps to lure targets into better locations for killing, while the glass vials I threw at victims in order to make them bleed. Even with the little amount of damage they usually caused, a bleeding opponent was usually a little slower than a fresh one.
The last thing to go into the pack were the elastic ties for my long (a few inches past the knees) hair and the carriers for the vials. They wound around my wrist and had straps where the glass vials could slide in easily. Any other supplies I needed I'd have to get on the road.
— — —
Escaping from the base was distressingly easy. Did they expect me to break out and then have me followed?
* I hope they don't send bone-man after me. He can actually track me pretty well. *
Although I considered Kimimaro a friend, he was not someone I wanted as an enemy.
* I need more supplies. I have no food or medical supplies. Think there's a village a few hours away, I'll go there and get what I need. *
Before entering the village he stopped to pull the jacket he'd grabbed from his room over the dark purple shirt he'd hastily thrown on before leaving the base. The jacket fit well, the sleeves shredded but that was alright. He would have felt restricted in a normal jacket. The fins made his arms a bit bulkier than they once were and could be very sensitive, so it was probably better not to have to worry about them being forced into material or chaffing due to irritation.
He pulled out three water bottles (half of what he was carrying) and tied them to his belt. His outfit consisted of a dark purple t-shirt, the dark blue jacket, black training pants, a dark blue belt, and black combat boots. His hair was tied up in many small braids to keep it out of the way. The vial-carriers were wrapped around his wrists as well. He felt his knees cramp as he bent to check what he needed to buy. Thankfully he'd stolen and hidden some money in the pack years ago, so finances wouldn't be an issue.
He pulled a kunai from the pack and stared at it blankly.
* Where did this come from? I never took a knife. *
He grimaced as the fins on his legs started to itch fiercely.
* Might as well fix that while I still can. *
He cut slits into the bottom of the pants, making sure they stopped a few inches above the boots.
* That should give me enough room and the material won't get in the way. *
He shrugged the pack back on after rummaging through it.
* Food and medical supplies. Might wanna get some sort of weapon as well. My jutsu can only do so much and hiding what I'm really capable of is a tactical advantage. *
He used a henge to make himself look like a nondescript shinobi with black hair and dark blue eyes before going into town.
* This better be worth it. I really hate crowds. *
— — —
Purchasing supplies wasn't too difficult. There was a problem though: the pack he had would not fit everything. He did the best he could until he found a shop advertising 'expansion' packs. He bought one, the owner explaining that with the expansion seal up to 120 lbs. could be put into the pack with no problem - no matter how big the items were. He folded the old pack and put it along with everything else into the new one. Thankfully the bag had a shrinking seal on the outside so it was easier to carry.
He wandered the streets for a while, getting a feel for the place. It was just an average small traveling village. Near some rubbish bins he saw two coiled metal chains and picked them up.
* I could probably use these as weapons. *
Aoyuurei, a week later —-
After purchasing supplies he left the traveling village. He kept moving, sleeping in trees and on grassy and rocky ground alike. He didn't really care about the poor conditions, he just wanted to get away from the base. Even thinking about that place, with the purple-haired man, snake-eyes, jellyfish-boy, and bone-man made him feel sick and dizzy.
* Their names are Kabuto, Orochimaru, Suigetsu Hozuki, and Kimimaro Kaguya. *
Giving them the name's he knew they had (in his mind) did help a little.
It was on the seventh day after leaving the base he came across a large city.
* Hope they have a tavern or something here. I need to get news from somewhere. *
He used the same henge as before and walked into the city, his eyes roaming everywhere at once. He was tempted to use the technique from before to make himself really fast in order to explore the place quicker, but decided against it. He would stand out way too much if someone saw him.
The first place he stopped at was the library. He asked where the sections on jutsu and kekkai genkai were and made his way to the kekkai genkai section first. He searched for anything that seemed familiar, finally coming up with something after an hour's worth of searching. Apparently what he'd done in the base before leaving was called the 'swift kekkai genkai'.
He looked through the jutsu books, but found nothing of interest. He inquired about a bookstore at the front desk and was directed to three of them. The first was a bust, not having anything remotely interesting. The next two were more promising. He didn't really care much about history, so stayed away from books and scrolls of that nature. He did find several scrolls and books on Water release and Lightning release and bought those. He'd start learning more and training later. He also managed to find a book on whips and chains as weapons he bought as well.
— — —
When it was dark he made his way to the tavern and sat at the bar. He yanked one of the bottles from his waist free and downed its contents. His eyes were on the other patrons and his ears were open for news and gossip. He overheard several conversations, most of them irrelevant. There were a few that peaked his interest though.
"... wonder if they're just crazy or there is something to that cult."
"Maybe. I heard they murder people as part of their doctrine. Do you really want to do that?"
"Not really, but the rest sounds cool."
"You are strange."
"Jashin?"
"Yeah. Followers are popping up everywhere."
"Why haven't I heard of this before?"
"You live under a rock, it's not my fault."
"Jashinism huh?"
"Yup. Their priests are said to gain immortality. They also have to sacrifice people to appease their god."
"Sounds gruesome."
"Also sounds awesome though. They worship their god and get rewarded . That's not something you see every day."
— — —
"What can you tell me about this Jashin?" he asked, coming up behind one of the talking couples. He made sure to deepen his voice so it matched the disguise.
"He's their god - Jashin cult, Jashin the god. They give living sacrifices and are rewarded. If they do real good they sometimes become immortal. What else's there to know?"
"Thanks,"