Kat's Notes: Say goodbye to the K+ rating, everyone, the first scene is going to annihilate it. Also, in true Kat style, this has somehow spawned subplots. And a massive cast. They're still not mine, either, in case anyone was confused on that point. If so, wow are you on the wrong site.
Dawn brightened the eastern sky with a hint of gold, washing slowly over the sleeping village. At the edge of the forest, four Sound shinobi waited, a basket plastered with paper seals sitting between them.
"Where is that little fucker?" one grumbled. "Damn little shit get lost walking down a straight road?"
"Tayuya…"
"You're wondering the same damn thing," Tayuya snapped, folding her arms across her chest, and blowing a lank strand of her pink hair out of her face. She subsided into muttering profanity, and ignoring the other three as they watched the road out of Konoha.
Gunmetal-grey scales slid through the grass, catching Kidomaru's attention an instant before a sinuous shape slipped from the undergrowth and struck. Fangs set in a black maw sunk into his torso, through the cloth and armored mesh of his clothing. Kidomaru swung his arms at the attacking snake, and dispelled it with a smoky pop. A summon.
Clamping one hand to the wound, his other hands flashed through the seals needed to excrete his golden armor, and felt the others around him tense up.
"Find the summoner," Sakon ordered, twisting with a snarl as a woman's voice answered.
"Right here, kids." An unmasked ANBU stepped from the trees, her porcelain mask hanging on her hip instead of on her face, and a large snake twisting sinuously around her waist and shoulders.
A strangled croak jerked Sakon around as his brother abruptly sagged against him. A flash of morning light, and Sakon found a trio of needles tracing a path from the base of his throat to the middle of his chest. He reached for them and stumbled forward as another set lodged into his half-emerged brother.
The basket set between them shattered in a spray of torn weaving and shredded seals, settling around the ANBU, her sword still drawn in her hand. Her other hand pulled the snake from her body and threw it towards Tayuya.
The girl's flute fell to the ground at her feet, as the snake wrapped muscled coils around her, pinning her arms to her body. She glared venomously and managed to spit out, "Mitarashi," before the snake constricted around her, and stole her breath.
Anko strolled through the wreckage towards her, kicking Tayuya's flute away to clatter into the grass at the side of the road as her hands formed the Snake sign. "Didn't think Orochimaru would just wait around hoping Uchiha would stumble in eventually. I'd send one of you back to tell him how spectacularly that failed, but I think I'll send you on ahead to wait for him instead." Anko snapped her hand into the Tiger sign and stabbed forward, a gold-scaled snake lunging down her arm and baring its fangs. A dripping blade jutted from the snake's mouth, impaling Tayuya's throat in a wash of gore, punctuated by a gasping scream with the last of her strangled breath. The constrictor surrounding her tightened its grip, with a sickening crunch as her ribs collapsed.
Anko allowed the golden snake to fall, vanishing with a puff of smoke when it hit the ground, and turned back to the final member of the fallen Sound team. A wall of earth sprang up around her, shrinking the sky above until it closed into a sealed dome. Anko gritted her teeth against the sudden chakra drain that pulled at her.
Jiroubou, the last of the Sound Four fists or hands thudded against the earth dome, and his voice rumbled through, muffled by the hardened dirt standing between them. "You were part of the trash left behind by Orochimaru-sama."
His observation dragged a dark laugh from Anko. "What's that make you and your friends then, fatso? Think I did pretty well for trash."
Killing intent spiked from the boy, and Anko grinned. Pretty well for trash indeed. And she would send bits of them back to that bastard snake in boxes if the Hokage would let her.
"You were not strong enough to server Orochimaru-sama, and now you are trapped, and being drained of your chakra to feed me."
Anko sank back against the dome wall and let her head fall back against it. "Yeah, that's why I'm not here alone."
A second kunoichi flickered into being behind Jiroubou, her hand igniting with the glow of a chakra scalpel as she slashed it across the back of his neck, neatly, and bloodlessly severing his brainstem. Jiroubou jerked once before pitching forward and crashing into his own earth dome.
With the loss of Jiroubou's chakra, the dome collapsed, pitching Anko backwards as she lost the wall she leaned against. Anko caught her footing and turned to grin at Shizune's flushed face. "Now aren't you glad I dragged you along?"
.oOo.
The lights rigged throughout the underground tunnels cast a harsh, clinical light over everything, even the deep comfort of the bed and its heavy surrounding curtains. The figure within the bed laid with his hands folded on top of the covers. Dark eyes snapped open and faded to a lurid yellow as the man sat up and reached for his face.
The tanned skin tore and sloughed away under his fingers, revealing smoother features and a corpse-like pallor. Discarding the shredded mask of skin, Orochimaru brought his hands up to his face, flexing the fingers and feeling a grim satisfaction to see and feel them working once again.
"It is good to see you well, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, slipping closer to his master's bed, betraying none of the bubbling fear he felt in his movements or face. This wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. The Sannin's awakening would leave him powerful, and the news was not good.
"Mmm. Where is Uchiha Sasuke?"
Kabuto smothered a wince, and bowed in respect and apology as he answered, "Still in Konoha, my lord. He was discovered by two other genin, and defeated. The boy never made it to the gates, or your waiting servants."
Orochimaru's silence pressed down into the room for several strangling breaths before he spoke again. "And why is that, Kabuto? Why is my chosen vessel still within that village rather than awaiting me here? And where is his escort?"
Kabuto cleared his throat and straightened before answering the question. It had taken a few days work by the Sound-loyal spies to piece together the events that had lead to Uchiha's change of heart. "The four you sent were killed before they realized the Uchiha had been captured. Uchiha Sasuke is now sealed to the confines of the village by Jiraiya. Only Jiraiya, who performed the sealing, and Tsunade know the full details of the seal. Presumably, Hatake Kakashi has also been informed by now. My spies were not able to uncover the details of the seal or how to unlock it yet."
"I see." Orochimaru laced his fingers together. "Then by all means, Kabuto, tell me of these fearsome kunoichi that bested my Uchiha, and stole him away from my Four without them even noticing."
"Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura," Kabuto said, placing a pair of data cards before his lord. "The Hyuuga is part of Team Seven – along with Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto – and taught by Hatake Kakashi. She is somewhat proficient in her family's taijutsu style and possesses the Byakugaan, but was defeated by her cousin Neiji during their battle in the Chuunin exam. She was the one to battle and strike down Uchiha Sasuke."
"I recall the Hyuuga," Orochimaru said, eyes narrowing as he dragged a thin finger over the photograph embedded in Kabuto's card. "She did not impress me, but I was more focused on Sasuke-kun at the time. Perhaps there was more to her than a cowering child indicated. The other one?"
"Haruno Sakura. She is from a civilian family with no close shinobi ties, and part of Team Eight, along with Aburame Shino and an Inuzuka Kiba. She has been learning genjutsu under Yuuhi Kurenai and made it to the finals by defeating a Yamanaka kunoichi. The only truly noteworthy thing is she seems to have perfect chakra control, but below average reserves. She fights primarily with genjutsu and low level ninjutsu, She had no skill in taijutsu to speak of upon leaving the Academy, though her performance in Chuunin Exam indicates she has improved slightly since then."
Orochimaru frowned thoughtfully, "Perhaps Sasuke-kun will require more refinement than I expected."
"My lord?"
"Leave it for now, Kabuto. The Hyuuga jyuken is formidable even in inept hands. Sasuke-kun likely didn't take that into consideration when facing the Hyuuga girl." And thatdestroyed a sterling opportunity, and wasted the trouble he had gone through with Uchiha Itachi.
His failed possession of the boy years before had one useful result: he could, with a great deal of concentration, briefly enter and control Itachi and his fearsome doujutsu. It allowed him to keep a sporadic eye on what was going on within Akatsuki when Kabuto's spy network could not; though only a sporadic eye, and always a brief one. The contact was draining in his current state, and it would not do for Itachi to discover the tenuous hold. It was, however, just enough time to seize an opportunity as Itachi locked his younger brother in the Tsukiyomi to fan Sasuke-kun's hatred and spur him into seeking the power offered by the Heaven Seal.
Effort wasted by an arrogant boy and two lucky little girls. Orochimaru slid from his bed, ignoring Kabuto as he retrieved his data cards and secreted them away. "I will need to know the specifics of my old teammate's seal on the boy, Kabuto. Discover it."
Kabuto bowed. "As you wish, Orochimaru-sama."
.oOo.
Iruka shouldered his travel pack, feeling the weight of the few supplies he would need, and the scroll he was assigned to deliver. It was a simple, C-ranked delivery mission that was more befitting a genin team than a lone chuunin, but with the village short-staffed by the invasion, nearly everyone had been pressed into service.
Before he left, however, he had promises to keep, and a few stops to make in the village. He suspected the Hokage was aware of his intentions, as his mission was not time-sensitive, and he would make up the lost time by traveling faster than a typical pack of unruly genin, anyway.
He walked down the road – mostly abandoned at this hour of the morning – and faltered for an instant when he saw the tall, shaggy-haired figure of Jiraiya leaning against a fence along his path. His arms were folded across his chest, and he smiled a bit as he noticed Iruka's reaction. Iruka pulled his composure back to himself, and stomped on the general feeling of unease the other man's presence had sparked.
"Was there something you needed, Jiraiya-sama?"
Jiraiya shrugged and pushed away from the fence. "We're probably going in about the same direction is all. Keeping promises, sensei? Or has Tsunade-hime given you a mission?"
"Both," Iruka answered, cautiously, stepping closer and stopping on the side of the road. "I wanted to check on Hinata and Sakura before I left, and speak to Naruto before he found out about Sasuke as well. It's going to upset him."
"Why don't I walk with you?" Jiraiya said, clamping a massive hand on Iruka's shoulder and steering him back onto the path towards the Hyuuga compound.
Seeing absolutely no way he could refuse, Iruka allowed himself to be herded along in abject confusion. The Sannin had been waiting for him, that much was obvious, but Iruka had no idea why.
"Ibiki knows you well."
Iruka started, and gave him a puzzled look, wondering if that was some sort of answer to his confusion. If it was, it wasn't doing a very good job of clearing anything up. "Of course he does. I'm an academy teacher." Jiraiya's silence was expectant and Iruka rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. There wasn't any reason for Jiraiya to know about the evaluations and training. Most shinobi in the village viewed the academy teachers as glorified babysitters. "All academy teachers have bi-monthly evaluations with T&I. Ibiki happens to do mine. Anyone with significant access to shinobi children is monitored for seditious qualities. It …" Iruka dragged in a breath and swallowed before continuing. "It doesn't catch everything, but it lowers the probability of a child with a bloodline limit, or an orphan, going missing."
And children had gone missing in the past. Iruka didn't think he needed to bring up the most horrific example their village had seen. He waited as Jiraiya digested the information, and they walked in silence.
There were more signs of life on the village streets now: people walking along the road, and jumping across the rooftops without any indication of the brief drama played out in the Hokage's office and on Konoha's streets the night before.
"You are unusually well informed on S-class missing nin for a chuunin."
"I was Sasuke's academy teacher." Iruka shrugged. "None of my other students have mortal enemies. Well, except for Naruto, but that's nearly every adult in the village." Jiraiya frowned at that, but Iruka ignored it. Naruto probably hadn't told him much about his treatment by the rest of the village. He didn't much care if the man believed him or not on that point. "I asked the Sandaime to tell me everything he could about Uchiha Itachi. And as for what I told Sasuke last night, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Impassioned speeches about friendship weren't going to sway him, but he's always been unfailingly logical. We just have to hope he'll figure the rest out eventually."
The walls of the Hyuuga compound rose beside the path, and soon, they came to the tall gates set in the center. A Branch member stepped from the shadows and waited in an impassive acknowledgement of their presence.
"Ah, we would like to see Hinata if she's available," Iruka said, casting a glance up at Jiraiya. The Branch member stood silent for a moment before offering them a slight bow, and vanishing back into the shadows beneath the gate. A few minutes later, Hinata appeared, trailing Sakura.
"Good morning, girls," Iruka greeted.
"Has something else happened?" Hinata asked quietly, exchanging a worried look with Sakura. Sakura frowned at the idea and drew in closer to Hinata's side.
Iruka's eyes widened and he held up his hands reassuringly. "No, not at all. I said we'd go talk to Naruto this morning, and it's probably best to do it before he finds out, well … anything from anyone else."
"Me, I'm just stalking the sensei here," Jiraiya grinned. "But Tsunade-hime also wants your team sealed to the Uchiha brat before he gets any bright ideas about breaking his curfew. She'll have my manhood if that happens." He ignored the color tinting the faces of the other three and dug a slender brush and a sealed pot from his pocket. "Arm out, Hyuuga-san. I'll need to see your wrist."
Sakura looked like she wanted to move between her friend and the Sannin, remaining tense as Hinata pulled the sleeve of her dark shirt back and offered her arm. Gone was the heavy coat she had worn before, replaced with a lighter shirt and a new-minted air of confidence. Unhealed bruises from jyuuken strikes also decorated her uncovered arm, but no one commented on them, even to hiss in sympathy.
Jiraiya worked swiftly, drawing traceries of ink across Hinata's pale wrist with brushes of ink. Once finished, he channeled a burst of chakra into the seal, causing Hinata to blink as the energy frizzled along her nerve endings, and the markings of the seal faded from stark red-black to a pale sheen of violet iridescence. Sakura leaned over her shoulder, looking at the mark curiously as Hinata held it up in front of her face. Smiling suddenly, she offered a polite bow to Jiraiya. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama. Is … is Sasuke-kun already sealed?"
Jiraiya nodded as he stowed the brush and ink pot away. "He has been for hours. That seal's one of the anchors, so he's definitely not giving you any repeat performances of last night. I'll show you how it's released later."
Sakura muttered something under her breath, quieting when Hinata looked back at her. "Nothing. I guess you're going to visit Sasuke next? Try to start talking some sort of sense into his stubborn head?"
"I … I think we should explain things to Naruto-kun next," Hinata said, pushing her fingers together in a sudden burst of nerves, and looking to the two older shinobi. "Unless you've already told h… him?"
"Not yet, Hinata-kun. I wanted to talk to both him and Sasuke today."
"Thanks for having me over, Hinata," Sakura told her. "And for … well, rescuing me and kicking the crap out of Sasuke-kun." Hinata blushed and started stammering, cutting off with a squeak as Sakura pulled her into brief hug. "Go talk to Naruto. Straighten this mess out."
"You could come," Hinata suggested, but was met with a quick shake of Sakura's head.
"I think I'll head home. You go tell Naruto how much you rocked! You deserve it. And you're too nice for your own good, so you'll probably go talk to Sasuke after that. I … still feel like yelling at him. That won't help anything."
Hinata looked torn between being startled and being sad at that. "Sakura-chan …"
Sakura waved her off, her eyes looked suspiciously glassy, but no one commented on it. "I love him, right? So I'll … I'll get over this. Just not now, okay? I'll talk to Sasuke-kun later. Just not right now. I'm still mad at him."
Hinata stared at her consideringly for a long moment before she nodded her acceptance. "Can … can you tell father where I've gone? Neji-kun can walk you home."
Sakura started to protest, only to be interrupted gently.
"It's … only polite. I'm sure father will insist anyway."
"… Fine," Sakura sighed. "Good luck with your idiots."
"Sakura-chan," Hinata chided, laugher dancing behind her tone. Sakura managed a small smile before turning and walking back into the Hyuuga compound.
.oOo.
The door Iruka brought them to was a bit shabby; peeling paint and wash-worn stains decorated it. Iruka led the way, though Jiraiya followed without really following. Hinata walked along between the two, fidgeting when they finally stopped. At Naruto-kun's door. Months of interaction had quieted the worst of her butterflies, though the entire colony still took flight the moment he smiled at her. Or spoke to her outside of combat. Or looked at her.
Jiraiya reached past Iruka and hammered a fist against the door, triggering a cascade of thuds and crashes in the room beyond. Hinata stopped just short of activating her Byakugaan to look beyond the wood and plaster to make sure none of the racket had been Naruto. It sounded painful.
The door opened a moment later, revealing a tousled Naruto, his spiky hair poking from beneath a night cap, and a confused expression twisting up his whiskered face. "Ero-sennin? Iruka-sensei? Hinata-chan?" he blinked at them and craned his neck to look behind the trio. "Is teme here too?"
"Ah, no." Iruka reached out and pulled the frog-shaped night cap from Naruto's head and handed it to him. "Naruto, can we come in?"
"If you want to," Naruto answered, dubious and still clearly confused. He stepped back from the door and pulled it wider. Hinata squashed the urge to look around in abject curiosity as she trailed in behind the two older men.
"Arm out, brat," Jiraiya ordered, pulling his ink and brush out and waving Naruto over to stand in front of him.
"What?" Naruto stepped back, hiding his arms behind his back as his eyes narrowed. The other two shuffled around, making room for movement in the crowded apartment, and looking to Jiraiya to see what he was going to do.
"I need to ink a seal onto you," Jiraiya said. "Hinata-chan here has already gone through it, and came out just fine." He pointed the brush towards Hinata, who shyly held up her arm and tugged the sleeve of her coat down to show the seal etched over her wrist. "So has your other teammate: the Uchiha. You're next."
"So, what, is this like some sort of special Team Seven togetherness seal? Are we going to be able to find each other all over the village now or something?"
"Considering everything that's happened to your team over the last few days, that might not be a bad idea," Iruka said, dryly.
"They're anchor seals," Jiraya said, finishing the last whorls with a flourish and setting his brush aside. "Kakashi's getting one too as soon as he gets back from his mission." Jiraiya summoned chakra to his hand and slapped it over the inked seal, activating it. A flash of blue light erupted from under Jiraiya's hand and Naruto yelped, but couldn't pull his hand out of the larger man's grip until the flare faded and Jiraiya released him. Naruto hugged his hand to his chest for a moment before lifting his sealed wrist up to look at it.
"So … what're we anchoring?"
"Sasuke-kun. It seals Sasuke-kun to the village." Hinata smoothed the arm of her coat over the seal to cover it, and rubbed at it unconsciously through the material.
Naruto's face screwed up in confusion and he scratched at his hair as he turned to Hinata. "Why're we sealing Teme to the village?"
Iruka's mouth thinned into a line, but softened a moment later as he nodded to Hinata. "Why don't you tell Naruto what happened last night, Hinata."
"Thought you spent the night with Sakura-chan," Naruto said, still confused. "Should she be here?"
"Sa... Sakura-chan didn't want to," Hinata told him. "She … she said it would only make things worse if she …. yelled at Sasuke-kun again."
"Sakura-chan yelled at Sasuke?" Naruto repeated, trying to wrap his mind around that idea and failing. Sakura yelled at himplenty, but she'd never so much as raised her voice to Sasuke.
"She was … defending me," Hinata admitted, her fingers pressing together nervously as she refused to meet his eyes. "Sasuke … he …" she dragged in a breath and looked up, steeling herself before she continued in a rush. "Sasuke-kun tried to abandon the village last night. He almost … Sakura … she couldn't sleep, and went for a walk. She intercepted him, and he told her what he was doing. I followed her … I was … worried. She was so upset, and I saw Sasuke knock her out. He said he was going to Orochimaru. And … and I … I couldn't …"
She trailed off and chewed on her bottom lip, starting when Iruka placed a hand on her shoulder, and smiled. "Do you want me to finish with what I know, Hinata-kun?"
Hinata looked torn for a moment, almost giving into relief, before she straightened and shook her head. "Sasuke tried to leave. I challenged him, and he attacked me. He had already attacked Sakura. I stopped him. We, Sakura and I, took him to Iruka-sensei, who brought us to the Hokage. She … Hokage-sama sentenced him to …" Hinata's courage deflated and she looked away from Naruto, who was staring at her in wide-eyed silence.
"Sasuke isn't allowed to leave the village for the foreseeable future," Iruka finished for her. "And he won't be able to leave until you and the other members of Team Seven think he's stable."
"Sasuke isn't allowed to leave the village," Iruka finished for her. "And he won't be able to leave until you and the other members of Team Seven think he's stable."
Naruto stood quiet, digesting the information for a moment before he spoke to Hinata. "You beat Sasuke in a fight, didn't you? To keep him here, so he couldn't run off and join that creepy snake guy."
Hinata flushed, and pushed her fingers together, but eventually nodded. Naruto smiled, blindingly even if it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks, Hinata-chan." Hinata squeaked intelligibly, and Naruto chuckled, before genuinely brightening. "Hey, does this mean Neji's next?"
Hinata's pale eyes snapped up, and she looked scandalized. "N… Naruto-kun! No!" She blushed darker under his smile and looked away again, voice softening as she added, "But father was p … pleased."
"Damn straight your dad should be pleased. You're awesome, Hinata-chan." Naruto nodded happily, before determination squared his stance and he turned to Jiraiya and Iruka. "I want to see him."
"Ah, that …" Iruka cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "Naruto, I'm not sure that's the best idea right now…" Iruka started as Jiraiya interrupted him.
"Eh, what's the worst that could happen, sensei?"
"I can think of several things," Iruka said, eyeing the Sannin darkly. "Jiraiya-sama …"
"I'll keep an eye on him," Jiraiya promised, shooing the younger man out the door with one hand. "Don't you have a mission you're supposed to be headed out on, sensei?"
Iruka drew up short, and looked torn for a moment before sighing. The mission could wait, but it would also only take a few hours to complete, and the sooner done the longer he could spend in the village. Particularly with two students that most needed an adult that didn't treat them like a dull kunai. "Please don't let them hurt each other, Jiraiya-sama."
"I'll make sure there's not too much damage, sensei."
Iruka glared at him. "That's not the same thing."
Jiraiya grinned at him. "No, but it's the closest you'll get with those two."
Kat's Notes: And it didn't take me months and months and months this time! Seriously, though, I am really touched by the positive feedback I've gotten on this so far. Hope you're still enjoying it! Thanks for reading!
