Chapter seven. This time I will apologize for how long this one took to upload. I don't really have an excuse this time except for maybe work. That and I've started a new story, been editing old stories, photoshopping, putting legos together, and just doing whatever I wanted to do at that time.

This chapter turned out as long as I wanted it to and I have no other comments on that. However, I did ask a couple of questions last chapter regarding how you thought I should line up Japanese terminology as well as your opinions on the word "fuck". I take it from the lack of comments nobody seems to actually care. The reason why I asked is because I'm going to be writing a couple sequels to this and Hidan is going to make quite a few appearances. And, well, you all know him.

Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited this story:
(favorited) Stellar-Prime, Theunfunny9, Slitheringirl22, Your Hoshi, PsychopathicXangel
(followed) Stellar-Prime, Theunfunny9, Slitheringirl22, lily0yuri, Your Hoshi

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, obviously. Hoshi is mine and so are any characters you don't know about.


Chapter Seven
Rogue Ninja

I did not dream while I remained under the spell of the sleep technique. I heard, saw, and felt nothing at all, but that was not the worst of it.

I found myself drifting in and out of sleep, but the waking seemed like the non-reality than the sleeping. And, when I was awake, I couldn't move. My limbs were numb from a lack of activity and my eyes burned in their sockets—I wondered if they were open or closed because I could see nothing. When I was waking, I discovered that the period between waking and sleeping was lengthening; almost as though nemuri was wearing off. But while I wanted to remain awake, I felt compelled to sleep.

About the eighth or ninth time (I had lost count), I finally did awaken and I slowly became aware of my surroundings: the familiar busy grinding sound from the computers on their stands; the sound of air pumps and compressors hissing and vibrating. They all told me I was still in the medical center. Pressure and stiffness on my back told me the position in which I had been sleeping. And the loss of feeling in all my limbs did much to tell me I had been out for a while.

I twitched the fingers of my right hand and gasped when I felt nothing. I twitched them again and got an irritating pins-and-needles feeling in return. I did the same with my left hand and received similar results. Same with my toes, arms, and legs. Once all the feeling had returned to me—not without the painful throbbing of blood returning to hungry veins and arteries—I slowly sat up (the action didn't take place without much difficulty) swung my legs out, and went to find water; my mouth dry like cotton.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I jumped at the sound of a voice. "Who's there?" I demanded, irritated and wishing I could use my shyakugan—now rishakugan, I remembered—to sense the presence of another person.

"It's me . . . Kimimaro." the voice said, chuckling.

I relaxed. "Oh. It's good to see you. Well, hear you I suppose is the correct term."

I heard Kimimaro's soft chuckle again and heard him shift in his bed. I smiled in spite myself and used my fingers to find the edge of my bed and leaned against it.

"Are you well?" I asked, my voice hard and scratchy from thirst.

"About as well as I'll ever be at this point." Kimimaro said. "And you?"

"I would be much better if I could see. I'm so damn thirsty. Where's that water?" I grumbled. I tried to find my rishakugan but couldn't even sense it.

Kimimaro shifted from his bed again; this time rising from it to assist his little friend. "Here. Get back into bed. I'll get it."

I scowled but did as he commanded. I heard the sound of a pitcher of water and a ladle being carried to my bed and set down on the table beside me. Kimimaro carefully spooned out a generous helping of water with the ladle and held it to my lips; cautioning me to drink slowly.

Once I had had my fill, I thanked him and he sat by my feet on the bed.

"Should you even be wandering about?" I asked with concern.

I heard him shrug. "As long as I stay within the medical center, I can move around as much as I please. Besides, the illness has not totally crippled me."

"Kimimaro, you are my friend. If you are unwell, I don't want you to downplay anything. So please, speak truth."

"Don't you believe me?" Kimimaro asked.

"Not really. I've learned not to believe everything anyone says. I just wish I could see you." I said, touching the gauze wrappings over my face.

Kimimaro sighed, seized my hands in both of his, and placed them against his face. I recoiled from the sudden feverish warmth his skin presented me but Kimimaro held my hands fast to his face; exhibiting the same strength as before he became ill.

I stopped trying to pull away and slowly ran my fingers over his manly features, every line and contour creating a picture of him in my head that barely matched my memory of last seeing him. I frowned.

"How bad are you?" I asked.

"I'm okay. So long as I don't use my shikotsumyaku." he said, putting my fears to rest.

"Do me a favor and don't use it." I said.

I heard him chuckle and felt the muscles in his face move up in a smile. "I won't. I promise. Though I am no longer any use to Orochimaru-sama, my purpose has been finished since I became ill."

He let my hands drop and I leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around me.

"So, you can't see anything?" Kimimaro asked.

"No. I can't see you with any of my dojutsus. I can't sense your chakra either. I can't even figure out if my eyes are open or closed." I said.

"It must be frustrating." Kimimaro said.

I nodded. "It would probably help if you took off the bandages." I suggested, playfully.

"Sorry. No can do. If Kabuto wants to remove them, he will. I will not breach protocol for fear he will kill me."

I looked up. "Not afraid to die, are you?"

"No. I just want to die in a fight so that my opponent could see my power and know who I am—that would be honorable. To be killed in my sleep for breaking a law or code of conduct would be dishonorable—both to my name as well as to the name of the coward who did it."

I said nothing. My basic need for water now taken care of, I felt nemuri beginning to take effect and I was powerless against its purpose.

/|\

I had no idea how long I slept while under the influence of nemuri. I drifted in and out of sleep again and again. Then, something jarred me awake. A flare of chakra within reach of my own bed. And, to my great joy, I found that my powers were returning. I could "see" two people standing beside my bed. Their dark silhouettes barely visible in the darkened background my three dojutsus provided me with. Their chakra networks were bluish-white burning flames coursing through their bodies and I knew precisely who was there with me.

"So it was successful?"

Shishou's silky voice reached my ears and I wanted so much to yell for him, to grab him and never let go, to welcome him home. But something in Kabuto's answer caused me to refrain from doing so.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said, equally as silky in his tone. "Bonding Hoshi's eyes with those of the rinnegan has been completely successful. She will be able to use all three to the extent of her own ability. Perhaps you will be able to use her sooner than you think."

"Yes." Shishou said, agreeable. "I could use her. But I hesitate to take her body to me. She lacks the anger—the rage—for what I need."

"Orochimaru-sama, if Sasuke Uchiha does not come to you when you have need of him—and you will need him very soon—you may need to take another. This is why I enhanced her. For that very purpose. You planned to use her long ago. What has stopped you from taking her?" Kabuto said.

"She was not yet ready." Shishou said, flatly. His voice edged with venom. Anyone else would have backed away and no longer pursue the matter. But Kabuto was not like anyone else.

"She is ready now, Shihaisha. She has learned everything you wished her to learn. Chances are, she is a the level you wanted her to be. Why not take her now while she is still unconscious?"

"Because it takes time for the body to accept my soul and time is something we don't have. I need to return to Konohagakure before the First Match. Make sure the Sound Four are all there, too. I'll need them to keep the ANBU Black Ops from getting to the Third Hokage before I have the chance to kill him."

Kill the Third Hokage? I forced every muscle in my body to relax lest they give away my awakened state. To my great surprise, which overshadowed the shock of knowing Shishou's plan to murder the leader of Konoha, I found that nemuri was no longer active within me. I wondered if the jutsu had been dispersed now that I was in such close quarters with Shishou.

"Shall I be there, my Lord?" Kabuto asked, his voice cutting into my meanderings.

Shishou considered Kabuto's question a moment. "Yes. I will need you to keep the Leaf Jounin busy. No doubt they will try to help their precious Hokage." Shishou said, spitting out the word Hokage like it presented a bad taste in his mouth.

I saw Kabuto's silhouette bow and I could sense him smile with pleasure. "Very well, Orochimaru-sama. I will be there as you wish."

Then, I heard a gasp and the scrape of a stool as someone sat down. Kabuto's shadow rushed to Shishou's side; hands at the Otokage's shoulders.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Shishou snapped and Kabuto withdrew his hand as though bitten.

"Orochimaru-sama? Are you unwell?" The spy asked, concern ringing in his tone.

"I'll be fine. I still have enough strength to do what must be done." Shishou said through gritted teeth. His breathing labored as he hunched over in pain on the stool.

Kabuto regarded his leader's position and tried once more to sway Shishou's mind.

"Orochimaru-sama, please reconsider. Look! She's right there! Take her. Her body is young and strong. You will have many years added to you if you take her."

"As I said before, Dearest Kabuto, to take her now would require time I don't have." Shishou spat. "Besides, the time limit is all the same: Two years. Two years is all I will have in her body before my soul is rejected. This body is sufficient enough to service me for what I need to do."

"Couldn't we wait until the next Chunin Exams come around? You will have—"

"NO! It must be done now! I've waited too long for this day! I've spent too much time preparing. To wait another year would mean all my moments of preparation were spent in vain. I will not sit out another year and watch the Hokage's power grow. That village must crumble and it won't crumble unless Hiruzen Sarutobi is dead!" Shishou thundered.

"My Lord. No disrespect to you, but might I be the one to kill him? Or perhaps a member of the Oto no Yoninshu? Anyone within Otogakure could have the power—" Kabuto put in but Shishou interrupted him.

"NO! It must be me! I know the old fool's power better than you know your own. Therefore, I must be the one to do it!"

I saw Kabuto's shadow bow. "Very well, my Lord. Please accept my dearest apologies. I had not meant to doubt you."

Shishou remained thoughtful. Then, I saw his head turn in my direction. "You must understand, my dearest Kabuto, that I am in control of the Sound, not you. You are merely my assistant and my spy. For you to think of me as a weak old man is foolish. I will kill you if you continue indulging such thoughts."

"My apologies, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said. He had not moved from his uncomfortable bowing and Shishou was purposefully drawing out his forgiveness as punishment.

Then, "Rise, Kabuto. You shall still attend me in Konoha. Remember your place next time you plan to argue with me on the finer points of my health."

Kabuto straightened with a few pops of his spine. Then, he turned to eye my still form. "What of the girl? Will you take her?"

"I will take her when I have no other options. Until then, she may have two or three more years left in her life." Shishou answered.

Kabuto was silent, obviously pouting that Shishou had not accepted me as he had supposed or hoped. "Three more years of training." he said. "I don't pity being her."

Shishou rose, crossed the floor to my bedside, and patted my bandaged forehead with cool, dainty fingers. "Nor do I. Such a good girl. It would be an even bigger pty to take her body from her."

I remained as still as I was physically able, though I desired so much to scream. To cry and hit him. To run off and—

Run off? I couldn't believe I was even considering doing what I was thinking of doing. The idea to run away from Otogakure had never been an option before. I had been too loyal to Shishou throughout my childhood to even consider it. But there it was. I could run away and never return.

Much to my horror, I realized I could do it. And I would never look back. But where could I go? Rogue Ninja were marked as criminals—traitors to their village because they contained village secrets that could be used against their Kage—and Shinobi everywhere were ordered to kill Rogues on sight.

I'll have to risk it. I thought. Besides, Konoha needs to be warned.

Konoha? Yes, that will be my destination. If I warn the Leaf of Orochimaru's plan to assassinate the Hokage, they're bound to take me in. I could be a Leaf Kunoichi! Just like I was meant to be.

Shishou's hand withdrew from my forehead and I saw both his and Kabuto's Chakra-lined shadows retreat down the hall. Then, I sensed the two perform the Transportation Technique and vanish.

I waited. My heart pounding heavily in my chest. One minute . . . two minutes.

Five minutes . . .

When neither Kabuto nor Shishou returned, I sat up, swung my legs out over the edge of my bed, and walked to a nearby worktable; feeling with outstretched hands and fingers because my eyes had not healed enough to give me specific details.

"Hoshi? What are you doing?" Kimimaro asked from afar.

"I'm running away, Kimimaro." I said, flatly. My knee came in contact with a metal supply tray set on a trolley My teeth gritted with pain and I felt around the tray; cutting my fingertips on the edges of sharp utensils.

"Hoshi, that's a dumb idea!" Kimimaro said. I heard him get out of bed and come to my side. His bare feet rasping on the cool floor. "He'll have you marked for death. You'll be a Missing-Ninja. You'll have to spend the rest of your life avoiding other Ninja. Is that what you really want?"

"I won't live that life, Kimimaro. Because I'm going to Konohagakure." I said, hand closing around the handle of a scalpel. I raised it to my face and cut through the bandages. Immediately they fell away and I plucked the gauze pads from my sockets.

"Konoha, why?" Kimimaro said. "Orochimaru-sama will be there! If he sees you, he'll know you ran away! He'll kill you!"

"I'm dead either way! What difference does it matter if I run or stay? I run, I lose my life! I stay, I lose my soul!"

"Look, Hoshi. You know I would be there for you in any decision you choose. But I cannot support this one."

"Well, whether or not you support me doesn't matter to me. Because I will leave Otogakure. I must warn the Hokage of Orochimaru's plans."

"Wait, you're going to warn the leader of an enemy village of your Kage's plans? That's treason, Hoshi. Punishable by death."

"Are you going to kill me?"

Kimimaro hesitated. By rights he should say yes. By rights he should call for help and try to hold me down until another shinobi arrived to arrest me. He should warn somebody of my plans to defect. I should be killed on the spot. But his answer surprises me.

"No."

"Then don't lecture me on treason and punishments. If a shinobi has a problem with someone in another village, we talk about it; not kill someone because of our differences." I said. I hadn't opened my eyes at all during my argument with Kimimaro. I was too afraid of what I might see. "Besides, the Hokage doesn't deserve death. No one deserves death as a punishment no matter how bad their crime is."

"Why do you care so much for that village?" Kimimaro asked.

My eyes opened and I looked at him, my vision no longer blurred from my mangekyo. "Because I was born there. I have family there. Shishou said he saved me from that place because the people there feared me and my power—the power I would have—and they would have me bound before I got the chance to use it. Now I know he took me because of my power. He took me because he wanted what I had and he planned to wear me like a suit.

"My life is a lie. That's all it's ever been is a lie. Going to Konoha is my one and only way to find myself. I need to see the family I was taken from. I need to know if what I've been told is true. I need to know if I have a place among the Leaf as a Ninja."

My eyes went to the surface of a stainless steel freezing unit and saw that my eyes were now their normal color. There was nothing to suggest I was going blind. For that, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then, I returned my attention back to Kimimaro. I was astonished to see he was in pain from my decision. I took his hands in both of mine and clasped them at my throat.

"Come with me." I said, in a pleadingly suggestive manner.

Kimimaro bit his lip in serious consideration of what I was suggesting. Then, he shook his head. "No, Hoshi. I can't come with you."

"Why not? I mean, maybe the medics there can find a cure for your illness. You'll be able to use your shikotsumyaku again. You'll be able to live in peace again. Don't you want that?"

"I wish for nothing more than peace. But, Hoshi, the reason why I can't come with you is because—unlike you—I have no place there. I have no family to call my own. No clan. No village. My place is here because Orochimaru-sama is here. He took me from the death and destruction caused by my own clan. He healed me from the destiny of murder my clan had carved out for themselves. He showed me things no one else could and he treats me well."

"Treats you well? He'll use your body! If he can't have mine he'll use the next best thing . . . yours!" I spat out.

"No. He can't. My body is structured differently than his. Besides, I'm dying. The least he can do is to end my suffering."

My eyes brimmed with tears and I threw myself against him, hugging him tightly. Kimimaro did not hesitate to put his arms around me; hands at my waist and back, drawing me into him.

"I'm sorry, Hoshi. But I belong here." he said, sadly.

"I don't want to leave you." I sobbed. "That's why I wanted you to come with me."

"So stay." he suggested.

"I can't. Because if I stay, we won't truly be together. He'll take my body and I will be him. I just can't cause you to be in pain because I am no longer the person you remember me to be."

Kimimaro was silent. I could tell he was contemplating his choices. If I stayed in Otogakure, I would die. If I left, he could at least hope I was still alive. Then, he sighed.

"Hoshi, choose your own path. If you decide to leave, then do it. But consider this: Next time we meet, we will be enemies and I will be forced to kill you. But, know that I have and always will have loved you and I consider you my friend."

"Same here. Though I hope that day never comes." I said.

"So, you're still going to leave?"

I nodded.

"Then this is good-bye. Here's a gift to remember me by."

Kimimaro's lips crushed against mine. My eyes widened in surprise, then closed. My hands glided up his neck in hopes of prolonging the kiss but he pulled away before we could get too attached. His thumbs brushed my cheeks. He smiled.

"Fair well, Hoshi Hyuga."

"Fair well, Kimimaro." I said, letting him go.

With that, I located my hood, mask, weapons, and clothing, re-braided my hair in its three plaits, and ran down the corridors as fast as I could.

Once outside the base, I spun a kunai on the ground to figure out the best route to take. It pointed south so I ran south.

And I never looked back.