"Oh! Kana...I never thought you had such great taste." One of Orochimaru's servants, Karin, sneered at Kana as she pushed back the blade from her neck. "You know,"Karin started as she gazed at Sasuke, "if you ever get tired of boring company, Kana could watch the hideout and I could stay here with youuu." Sasuke brought his eyebrows close together and closed his eyes. Kana looked at him, then at Karin and Orochimaru.
"Kana! When Karin leaves, report to Tournament Room. I'm tired of having a disobedient girl in my prescence."
Kana felt her heart race. She balled her hands into fists and stared into Orochimaru's snake-like eyes. She turned quickly, hit Karin with her shoulder and fled the room. As her footsteps pounded against the hard stone of the floor, she heard Kabuto's voice calling after her.
"Kana!! Karin is gone! Go to Tournament Room! Orochimaru wishes to speak to you."
Hadn't Karin just been here? Gone already? As Kana went towards Tournament Room, she wondered what would happen. Tournament Room was the biggest room in the hideout. In the front stood a number of chairs that were once used by the Akatsuki. Orochimaru sat in the largest. He used this room to determine his follower's skills and mostly to punish Kana if she didn't act the way he liked. The great oak doors closed behind Kana and soon enough, she saw the dark hair and pale skin of Orochimaru sitting in his throne. The side of his mouth curled up as if he knew that what would happen next would be entertaining. Kana soon felt a sharp pain in her head as five columns of fire shot up from the ground around her. They krept closer in until they singed the cuffs of her pants and licked her arms and legs. Still, Kana kept her eyes fixed on Orochimaru. The columns fell and the pain in Kana's head grew greater. She fell to one knee and soon to both. "Karin came to report the upkeep on the base. She had reason to be there but you just had to ruin it, didn't you?" Kana felt a hand grab her hair and yank back hard until she looked directly at Orochimaru. His hand grabbed her neck and lifted her into the air. She didn't struggle or show any sign of pain. He looked at her as if unsatisfied and flund her towards the wall. She hit it with great force and fell to the ground. Not willing to give up, Kana pushed herself up with her arm. She wished her attacks would work on him.
"One day Kana, when Sasuke's power is mine, I will enjoy watching you live your last moments alive. Someday I will kill you. Soon, there will be no use for you and I will be strong enough to kill you in a fair fight."
Kana's now loose hair fell from her shoulders as she looked down. Kana raised herself,held her left arm and tried to ignore the single drop of blood that ran down the left side of her head next to her ear. Her eyes showed no sign of fear.
"Soon, Sasuke will kill you. You will have no chance at winning," Kana smirked, "I give you my word. You will die."
Almost immediately after the words left her mouth and reached Orochimaru's ears, she felt her back hit something hard and then felt a sharp pain in the right side of her stomach. Her eyes closed and her head fell. As she drifted off into the darkness she heard her name. "Kana..."
She couldn't make sense of anything. Her head ached and she didn't know which way was up or down. As her eyes closed for good, she saw Konoha and everyone who lived there. Standing in the middle was a blond boy with his arms crossed. Hid bright blue eyes looked vaguely familiar. Naruto!
Of course, this was the boy that she used to enjoy teasing and racing. She won every time but he still insisted that she had cheated. How it had made her laugh when he had tried to get near Sakura! Kana felt like she had missed out on a lot since she had left the village. How much had changed? How had her friends gotten along? Had Ino and Sakura gotten closer? The pink-haired girl and the blond girly girl had always been nice to her. Kana used to envy them for having such true Japanese names. Neither her personality or her name had followed the Japanese tradition. That was the reason that Kana had always looked to Tenten. She had a better understanding of Chinese tradition. Tenten was Kana's favorite superior ninja. She had always promised to beat her in a fight so that they would be equal. She wanted to be as good as her 'big sister'.
Kana felt cold hands on her stomach. They were not steady and painfully rough. As her eyes come into focus, she turned her head to the right. A young boy around her age looked at her wound carefully and didn't take his eyes from it. The dark blue band around his head kept the few beads of sweat from running into his eyes. His eyebrows arched awkwardly, the boy applied liquid to the wound and dabbed it. Loose strands of dark brown hair fell over the band but kept from blocking his sight. Slowly,the hands started wrapping Kana's lower stomach in bandages. Kana still felt the hands tremble slightly. The boy secured the bandages and moved away from Kana.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Kana put her head backed down and closed her eyes again. She still didn't feel that great and the strange boy made her head hurt more.
"I am a subordinate to Kabuto. He has ordered me to help you. He and Orochimaru have left he hideout to check something. Sasuke is waiting outside. Would you like for me to get him for you?" The soft voice calmed Kana. How is one of Kabuto's subordinates this kind?
"Ummm...yes. I'm fine now. Thank you."
"Your welcome. I will be back to check on you in a few hours. Leader should have returned by then." The boy walked toward the door. His pale purple eyes shone as he opened the door to the hallway. "She is okay now. She wishes to see you." He walked away slowly and calmly.
"Kana. Are you ready?"
"What do you mean ready?" Kana sat up in the bed and tried her best to look at Sasuke. "What are you doing?" Sasuke's sword was out. He held it in his hands for a moment before returning it to the sheathe.
"It's time Kana. When they return, Orochimaru will not live long. I must begin to search for my team. Tell me, Kana. Are you ready?" The onyx eyes glared down towards Kana. She couldn't believe that he had decided on this so abruptly. Orochimaru had been training with him a lot lately. However, Kana had to admit that Sasuke had gotten a good amout of time to think and practice on his own. No matter how much faith he had in himself, Kana felt he still wasn't ready to face the challenges that she knew he would. "Don't doubt me Kana," Sasuke said as if reading her mind. "I know what I am capable of."
Kana sighed. "If you feel that it is time to go, I will follow you. But listen Sasuke. Do you really have such great faith in yourself? Do you truly believe that you can learn nothing more from him?" Her eyes looked questioningly at Sasuke. As he started to leave she yelled, "Answer me! You can't expect for it to be that easy! You know what is expected from you! Sasuke...if you rush this and you fail, your going to d-" Sasuke appeared before her so quickly, Kana went pale. She couldn't speak.
"Kana. Please...don't doubt this. You know how long I have waited for this. Listen to me. You have to come with me Kana. Do you understand? If you stay here, you will be killed. That's why I am going to kill him. But that still doesn't give you permission to stay. Kana, you promised you wouldn't leave again. I will not let you stay behind." Kana watched as Sasuke took out a necklace from inside his shirt. It's pale blue thread and light green,yellow and orange beads reached at Kana's brain. They seemed to scream to Kana. She remembered it. She could see it in her hands when she was younger. But when...when had she had this?
Kana remembered the necklace soon enough as a gift from Sasuke's mother. Now she remembered that she had worn it everyday until she came to the hideout. She guessed she just hadn't realized its absence.
"I found it that morning. On the bedside table in the hospital room," Sasuke said softly as he looked at Kana. Her eyes couldn't stray from the necklace. Its soft colors smeared memories all over her mind but none of them were very clear. Soon, her eyes filled with tears and she shut them.
Sasuke's lips brushed her forehead until he softly kissed it. He walked out, leaving Kana with her head buried in her hands, leaving her to wait for his return.