My dear readers, I am so sorry for the delay - I am out of my dorm for the holidays and since I am working, I do not get on a lot. Also a nosy family and slow internet detract from writing but I swear in January, my writing will be far more frequent for all of my stories.
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Chapter 9: So Messed Up

Song of the Chapter:
Just Like You – Three Days Grace
Reason: Azami and Kabuto's past.


Flashback

Azami sighed in pleasure as she was being held in his arms. The silver haired medic ninja looked into her eyes. He could feel her heart pound in anticipation, but her eyes still held some fear. "You alright Azami-koi?"

She bit her lower lip and glanced at Kabuto. "Well… I am a little anxious. Will it hurt?"

Kabuto's eyes softened as he glanced at the blond in his arms. "Well, at first it might, but tell me anytime you are uncomfortable." Her eyes flash with confusion, but she slowly nods her head as Kabuto leans forward to kiss her on the lips as he starts to unbutton her shirt.

End Flashback


Azami's brow furrowed as she watched Kabuto evade her black chakra infused punches. A smirk had come across the traitor's face. "What the hell is so funny?"

"Just thinking…" He sidestepped Azami and watched her glare at him. "Remember before I left for the Sound Village?" Azami narrowed her eyes before suddenly lunging at Kabuto.

"Bastard, do not bring up that ever!" She almost touches his arm with the chakra infused blow, but he barely dodged. In dodging, he falls backwards onto his butt. He managed to roll away as Azami kicks the ground where seconds ago, he had been sitting on. Using his legs almost like springs, he tackles Azami and managed to jump backwards before her hands are able to touch him.

Kabuto reached into his kunai pouch and tossed a few of the ninja throwing knives at the blond. From a pocket in her sleeves, Azami flings a couple of senbon which intercept and change the course of the kunai. A couple of kunai lands in front of Zetsu while the needles and a kunai land in front of Sasuke. The obdurate Uchiha bends down to pick up the weapons and although the former Grass ninja does the same, he watches Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. "I won't attack them. Although we are both under Orochimaru, I really hold no allegiance to him or feel any comradeship with Kabuto. If it of additional comfort, I will not activate my Sharingan."

Zetsu said nothing and merely nodded at him. They both surveyed the fight going on and were wondering if medics would be able to land a blow on the other. Kabuto was far too cautious to allow himself to be touched by the inexplicable dark chakra while Azami had managed to dodge the chakra scalpel that Kabuto was using, but Zetsu sensed something else. There was a feeling of holding back from Kabuto and Zetsu did not like it. "Azami-san, let me fight him damn it."

Azami shot a glance back at Zetsu. Him not calling her 'Azami-chan' in front of others hurt although she knew that safety was of the essence. "I need to do this…" Her eyes were filled with anger and sadness? Zetsu scanned the situation in front of him. Reluctantly, the plant-like ninja nodded at Azami who turned back to her former lover. "You will get out and stay out of my life. Even in the afterlife, we will never be together."

Kabuto looked at Azami with a mixed look in his eyes. "There is another way to rid yourself of the pain the fear wound puts on yourself. Azami paused in her attacks, but the dark chakra remained around her hands. Her hands fisted and she furrowed her brows in skepticism. "Accept my feelings for you and come with me to live here." Zetsu made an indignant sputtering noise, Sasuke raised a raven eyebrow, and Azami glared at Kabuto: eyes also a mix of emotions.

"You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me…" Kabuto's eyes narrowed as he looked at Azami, silently questioning her. "After all the bullshit I put up with prior to our, uh, breakup is reason enough to want to take your life. That day just solidified my resolve to spill your blood." Kabuto's eyes went to Zetsu in a flash.

"Don't tell me you are in love with the plant Akatsuki? I thought you didn't like violence and being in the Akatsuki, now as a member, you will be causing great pain. If anything, the fact he eats the bodies of those that need to be disposed is reason enough to despise him." Hurt crossed Azami's eyes but the look died when she also laid eyes upon her Akatsuki partner. "You really are desperate in thinking you could love a monster like him."

Zetsu snarled but the greatest surprise was Sasuke putting a hand on Zetsu's shoulder to stop him from fighting. "It is her fight." The taller man looked like he was considering severing Sasuke's hand from his body, but a nod from Azami kept him in his place. Noticing him relax, Sasuke relaxed his hold and folded his arms across his chest.

Azami charged at Kabuto again but she smirked at him. "I know something that will make you stop in your tracks." Kabuto raised a silvery eyebrow in amusement and was about to attack her, rushing forward. "Rosebush." Sure enough, Kabuto paused and had another reaction which made Zetsu snarl. Realizing her chance, Azami placed both of her black chakra infused hands on Kabuto's now red cheeks.


Flashback

Azami walked slowly in the new kimono that her sensei had gotten her before departing yet again on a gambling tirade. Next to her, a medic ninja by the name of Kabuto had come to be a companion that when he had the occasional mission outside of his village, they would meet and talk about medicine and healing jutsu. She fiddled with the white obi around the black silk of the kimono. Feeling Kabuto's gaze, she looked back at him and smiled. "Still not used to such rich and formal clothing I suppose…"

Chuckling, the ninja looked down at his attire, the purple ninja outfit he wore. "Better looking than my stuff at least."

She beamed at him, "Well, I admit it does fit you rather nicely." A tinge of pink dusted Kabuto's cheeks with that statement but he tried to keep pace with her to not fall behind. "Your teammates really need to stop following us; it is most annoying." Kabuto scowled and shot a glare at a couple of bushes behind him. Two poofs later told the two medics that they were alone.

"I told those idiots they better not dare to intrude on my date…" Azami raised a blond eyebrow in amusement.

"So you consider it a date, eh?" Kabuto blushed and tried to think of something to change the subject, but Azami was not ready to let it go. "So… the time in the teriyaki place, the sushi restaurant, and at the gardens were all dates?"

Smiling, Kabuto rubbed the back of his head. "Only if you consider it as such." Azami stopped momentarily, her eyes catching sight of something sparkly. Before Kabuto could inquire about the sudden stop, Azami grabbed his hand and ran towards the shine. When they reached the source of the sparkle, Kabuto was indeed intrigued by this. In a group of rosebushes, there was a bright sparkle. Shielding his eyes, Kabuto identified a diamond in the middle of the bush. "That is definitely odd… How can someone lose that diamond in the middle of all those rosebushes? There is almost no space for someone to be there to lose said diamond." Kabuto felt an odd chakra signature coming from the diamond and frowned. Looking towards Azami he was concerned. Can she not feel this chakra? I know she is not a ninja and only uses medical ninjutsu, but still… She should be able to feel this… The air and those rosebushes are saturated with this foreign chakra.

Azami tilted her head to the side, evaluating the situation. Finding a small gap, Azami smiled. "I am getting it." Before Kabuto could object by pointing out the unusual chakra emanating from the chakra and the rosebush surrounding it, Azami jumped through the gap and managed to curl into a roll coming into the small gap where the diamond was. She reached forward and plucked the diamond from its resting spot on the group. Holding it out where Kabuto could see it, she grinned. "Got it!" In flash of light, Azami frowned as the diamond disappeared. Kabuto did not feel the odd chakra vanish; instead the unusual energy emitted from Azami's confused form.

"Uh… Azami-chan, you ok?"

"Kabuto-kun… I just went into a fucking big ass rosebush to get this diamond that vanishes…" She plopped onto the scarce bare ground and grumbled. "I just wasted our time…" Kabuto frowned as he felt the mysterious chakra almost integrate itself into Azami's calm, medicinal based energy.

"Azami-chan… we need to get you out of there…" She nodded and looked around her. The rosebushes around her almost seemed to be getting closer to her. Looking at the gap she had previously jumped through, the medic cursed under her breath.

"Well, this spot you came in from is closing up, but it is your only choice…" Kabuto pulled out a kunai, ready to hack away at the offending plant when a glance from Azami stopped him.

"I cannot let you hurt an innocent plant." Kabuto frowns and is tempted to mention the fact that the flowers are after the mysterious energy that have by now made her body their home. Knowing that not being a ninja, Azami was skeptical about anything jutsu wise not including medical techniques and therefore he abandoned this attempt.

"Alright… that just made things a hell of a lot harder." Azami raises a blond eyebrow but lowers it when Kabuto motions to the place where Azami had previously used to enter the clearing. The space was rapidly becoming smaller. Azami's honey eyes narrowed upon noticing this.

"That is not normal… It is like the bush is trying to keep me here…" Kabuto rolled eyes and sighed.

"No really you think?" Azami glared at him, but turned her sights on the rapidly shrinking space. She jumped through it quickly and snarled when she stood up and her obi was stuck to a particularly thorny part of the rosebush. Her hands move to where the bush snagged the sash but was unable to free the obi. Looking up at Kabuto he sighed.

"You expect me to free you of the rose's grasp? Your fault for jumping there in the first place." A glare silenced Kabuto as he assessed how tightly the rose had been attached to Azami's obi. "Well, it has a pretty good hold on you. You most likely won't be able to get free without either ripping the obi or slashing the rosebush." Azami did not derive any assurance from this.

"You are a ninja; there must be another way. This kimono was a present and I hate hurting anything: plant or animal." Kabuto gave her a rather devious smirk.

"Well, that is why ninjas wear outfits that don't catch on much. Also this type of clothing is easy to fight in." Azami rolled her eyes.

"Just help me damn it. Rip the stupid thing if you have to." Kabuto raised his eyebrow, trying to determine if the 'stupid' thing was the rosebush or the obi. Deciding that she would take less offense to the tearing of the sash, she tugged roughly at the sash. The thorns broke upon the strength while the obi stayed intact. Meanwhile Azami fell against Kabuto. What Kabuto did not realize that he had opened her kimono. She was wearing black spandex shorts and a spaghetti strap under the kimono. Kabuto's eyes were focused on her lean, toned stomach. The medic ninja never released he had something for stomachs.

Azami quickly pulled her robe together and snarled at her companion. "Fucking pervert!" She hit him upside the head and stormed off. Confused, Kabuto felt an unusual feeling from his body. Looking down he groaned.

Great… Just fucking great… That was one of the worst feelings of Kabuto's life and the silent week that followed that incident was harsh on both Azami and Kabuto.

End Flashback


Kabuto cursed under his breath feeling the unusual chakra on his face. He did not know why, but it felt oddly similar to the chakra from the said rosebush incident. Finally able to have his wits about him, he pushes Azami and her now chakraless hands away from him. Zetsu was about to launch himself at Kabuto when Azami walked towards him and put a small hand against his chest. "What the fuck? You had better explain that rosebush shit after this. I can't believe he had a fucking erection! On another subject, that technique… exactly what does it do?"

Azami sighed. "You will see… It will take time, but soon enough…" Kabuto rubbed the cheeks on his face irritably.

"That felt… weird… But no internal damage or physical damage so apart from giving me the creeps, that attack did nothing." Azami reached into her sleeves for senbon while Kabuto charged, chakra scalpel at the ready. Azami smirked as she let the senbon rain upon the medical ninja. He tossed some kunai and was surprised to see that there was hiding in the shadows of the senbon were even more senbon. Some senbon grazed his left cheek and both of his arms. Raising an eyebrow, he calmly and without hesitation placed a hand to the minor scratches and healed them instantly. He snickers noticing that quite a few of his kunai had also made their mark against Azami's otherwise unblemished skin.

Sasuke was irritated by the fact that the rather moody former plant ninja was next to him. He wanted to activate his Sharingan so that he could find out exactly Azami's technique had done. Zetsu shifted uncomfortably. "That's weird… An odd chakra is leaking out from where his wounds used to be." While Sasuke could not see the unusual chakra, like Zetsu he could fell it flow from Kabuto. Nodding, he noticed something else.

"That chakra appears, by the feel of things, to be coursing throughout his body. I wonder if he is even noticing that in the heat of battle. Such a thing could change the course of the battle. Idiot, hn." Zetsu closed his eyes, trying to feel the intent behind the chakra. What he felt was astonishing: a malicious intent to destroy completely and utterly. An involuntary shiver was felt collectively by both the Uchiha and the Akatsuki member.

"I suppose there was always this power within her. Leader-sama must have felt that and known that she would serve as an Akatsuki member well…" Kabuto was about to charge at Azami again when he felt his face with an unusual expression in his eyes.

"What's wrong Kabuto? Don't tell me you are scared of little me?" Chuckling, she withdrew another senbon from her sleeve and walked slowly towards him. Kabuto was about to step forward to attack her when he gasped and grabbed his heart. Smirking she put the senbon back into her sleeve. "That is what you get for trying to go against me."

Kabuto fell to his knees and began to sweat profusely. "What is this… evil chakra…?"

"I mentioned the rosebush incident for more than one reason. Remember the diamond?" Kabuto winced as pain surged throughout his body. "That diamond did something to me… made me realize that I should not have to deal with this unfair punishment. All the other wounds you gave me, both mental and physical, were able to be easily taken care of with the exception of that dratted fear wound. If it were not for Zetsu's kindness, I think I never would be able to trust any men. I went around, learning not only about medical healing jutsus but jutsus that could destroy. The technique I used was a forbidden chakra destruction jutsu. When the chakra of a life is extinguished, the owner of chakra that is destroyed. When you healed the minor scratches, the destructive chakra also traveled through your arms to destroy the chakra network around your heart. That way, your heart is destroyed." Kabuto frowned and sensing an unusual sinking feeling, he fell backwards onto his back, glasses flying off.

Silently, Azami walks over to the glasses and picking them up. She walked over to the ninja who plagued her dreams and memories. Brushing a strand of silvery hair out of the way, she places the glasses back onto his face. He smirks for what they all know is the last time. "You know you are beautiful right Azami-koi?" Scowling she flips him off. To her surprise, he chuckles. "Already did." With the smirk still on his face, the dark chakra finally snaps his life force and the light from his eyes fade as they slowly close.

Standing up, Azami feels her head pulsing. "Bastard giving me a massive headache." Sasuke surveyed Kabuto's body and looked at him. Checking his pulse, the Uchiha quickly stood up.

"I need to report the death, not the intrusion of Akatsuki members, to Orochimaru." Nodding at both of them, he quickly disappears leaving Kabuto's body behind. Zetsu was tempted to kick the medic ninja but was worried about what Azami's reaction would be.

"Azami-chan… we had better leave as to not face the Snake Sannin." Azami nods as she closely hugs Zetsu. She feels the flytrap around the two and safe in his arms, they retract into the ground.


Tsunade suddenly shifts in her sleep and screams. She is instantly relieved to discover that her dream was not real and that she is still sleeping safely in her house. She grips her bed sheets as she sits up. Walking to the mirror she looks into the reflection of her pale face. Jiraiya's face had been a parchment white when she told him the truth about them and Azami. Hearing that had shocked the Toad Sage, but he was filled with a sudden resolve to bring back the passive medic. She had sent him earlier that day along with Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura to retrieve her. "Please hurry… I need to see my daughter again…"