If there are any unsightly spelling errors (that's ironic. I spelt spelling wrong as I was spelling it (DAMMIT I JUST DID IT AGAIN)) then just ignore them to the best of your ability. This has not been read in many a month soooooooo...
Chapter Ten: Orochimaru's Assistant
"You know what to do, my assistant. Watch that Uzumaki boy and tell me of his makings. Tell me every little detail you can find out about him. Now, go with haste. I will expect you back no later than four months before the next chūnin exam." someone in the shadows of the room hissed.
The white haired Shinobi that stood opposite this shadow gave a nod, a wild grin on his face and a strange glint in his eye. He bowed and the thick rimmed glasses that rested on his face slid off, clattering to the floor and breaking.
"Darn. Now I need to have these repaired, too. Oh well. I will be back soon, with everything I have learned about Naruto Uzumaki and the nine tails that resides within him. Is that all, Orochimaru?" he addressed the corner, and the very tip of a long, forked tongue poked out of the shadows.
"Tell me about any other child in the village that you deem powerful. I must know my enemies' strengths, even if they are few."
"I will do so, my lord." and with one last bow, the conversation ended and the white haired man disappeared.
"Do not disappoint me, Kabuto. I am relying on you, and much more than I would prefer."
Tanira opened her eyes and crawled out from under the bed, still very much aware that it was not far past midnight. They had just gotten back from their first mission, and she was still exhilarated from facing such powerful opponents. One was a member of the seven legendary swordsmen, and the other a user of the powerful frost nature.
Feeling unusually hyper, she decided that practicing her jutsu and getting rid of some of the excited chakra would calm her down enough to allow her to sleep. She stood up, being careful to avoid the many creaking floorboards of the apartment. The door had a similar problem; Tanira had to go out the window.
In the span of a deep breath, Tanira had opened the windows and stepped onto the tiny ledge just below it. She jumped up with her arms held high, and grabbed the gutter on the roof. She used this to pull herself up, and then Tanira was on the roof.
With a smile, she leapt towards the training zone that she frequently went to during the day. As she travelled, a strange feeling befell her. Trusting her instincts, Tanira immediately stopped moving and crouched in the tree she was on.
Tanira closed her eyes and carefully focused on her chakra, until it became slightly less detectable. She had never been particularly skilled at hiding her chakra, but at least only a Chūnin level Shinobi or higher could sense her, so if it was some kid playing a prank, they'd lose her.
'It's not someone playing a prank on you. They're still chasing. We're dealing with someone who's at least a Chūnin. This might become trouble. Try and stick to your mask; we don't want you lashing at them before they announce their purpose.' Kurama suggested, and Tania rolled her eyes.
I know what to do! I'm not a child, Kurama. She silently retorted, and Kurama chortled.
'But you are. You're only ten, Tanira child. You are young, and naïve, and you no experience. You might be intelligent for your age, but I'm the one who's older, smarter, and more experienced. So listen to me for once, okay child?' Kurama growled slightly, and let his chakra flare slightly, which turned Tanira's eyes slitted and red for the briefest second.
What was that? Wait, never mind. I shall talk to you later. They're coming. Tanira felt the chakra surge and frowned as her pursuer landed on a tree near her. They stared at each other for a couple minutes, both daring the other to say something first. Tanira was patient, but this man was even more so, and she gave in with deep frustration.
"Who are you?" was her first question. She knew very well it was a pointless one. He could choose to respond with whatever name he liked, and she wasn't likely to know any difference.
"My name is Yakushi Kabuto. You look similar to someone that I am looking for. Do you by any chance know a boy, probably a little older than you, by the name of Uzumaki Naruto?"
In that brief speech, Tanira had figured out a couple things. The first was that there was no chance he was from Konoha, which means he was from another hidden village, or was a missing nin. He was also obviously searching for information on the nine tails Jinchūriki, having no idea that he was talking to her.
Everyone still thought it was Naruto, and it would explain why he was sneaking around in the night. He didn't want to get caught doing what he was doing, and was pretty decent at it, which suggested that he had done this sort of thing before, so he had to be at least Chūnin rank.
"I know of him, yeah." Tanira decided to put on her mask and feign an innocent, sweet ten year old. Although for some reason, she felt he wouldn't buy it.
"I see. Are you friends with him? Do you know anyone who is?" this 'Kabuto' leaned forward slightly, smiling kindly.
"H… He doesn't really have any friends, mister. I want to talk to him, but everyone say he's really bad. Do you know why he's b… bad? He seems r… really lonely." Tanira stuttered and scratched her leg nervously.
"No friends? Well, that's a shame. I'd love to talk to you sweetie, but I have to go. Say hi to your brother for me." Kabuto grinned evilly, and Tanira returned the grin.
"How did you know?"
"The blonde hair was an instant giveaway. I know that Konoha has a very small amount of blonds in the village. Now, I would love to talk to you, but I have to go have a… talk of sorts, with your brother. Good-"
Her brother? Naruto may be an idiot, but he was her brother. There was no way she was going to allow some strange Shinobi to waltz right into their home and probably kidnap the child.
"I can't let you do that, Kabuto."
"You do know that he's a monster, right?"
"Yes, I do. You are not taking him. I will fight you if I have to, even though I might not emerge victorious."
"You want to fight me? Oh, you are naïve, thinking you can save him. But fair enough, I will let him be for now. Are you in the academy yet, little girl?"
"I'm a Genin, and I better not see you anywhere near my brother, or I will tell the Hokage there is a spy in the village."
"You aren't going to tell them now?" Kabuto sounded very surprised. "I'm spying on your village; the one you swore an oath to, and the one you protect and do you service under, and you're just letting me go with a warning?"
"That's right."
"Well, you are certainly an interesting child… Fair enough. Goodbye." And without another word, Kabuto disappeared into the forest, leaving Tanira alone once again.
"Well, I might as well fit in some training now." She muttered to herself and continued on her way to a clearing, where she would be able to practice until dawn if Tanira so desired.
For the next two hours, Tanira went through her four chakra natures, going over the basic jutsus she had seen. The nature with the least amount of jutsus that she had seen was the wind nature. Only once had she seen a Shinobi create a gale of wind, and when she tried it out, she accidentally, stupidly, used it in the forest and had knocked down many trees.
The Shinobi blamed it on the weather, and Tanira was amazed. She knew that one nature was stronger than another that she controlled; wind just happened to be her strongest.
Over time, like tonight, she worked on making the gale much smaller, and started with a tiny amount of chakra, until she learned to control it appropriately. This is what she did with every jutsu that she learned.
It was one thing to instantly know how to use a jutsu at its strongest, and another altogether to be able to control it to its most efficient form. With a deep breath, Tanira repeated the fireball jutsu, controlling the heat, size and shape of the flames.
All of a sudden she stumbled in her concentration, and the fireball fizzled out. She frowned. That had not happened to her before, and she wasn't entirely sure why it was happening now.
'You can't stop thinking about Kabuto. You want to know if he's left, or if he-'
You're right. I'm worried that he ignored me and went after Naruto anyway. Maybe I should go back. Tanira interrupted, ignoring Kurama's growl of annoyance.
'Why the hell do you care about that boy so much? You've expressed many ways that he's annoyed you to me, and you even once told me a dream where you killed him a hundred times over. Now all of a sudden he's family again?'
I've given him a second chance.
'You've given him a million chances. Just kill him and get your worrying over with.'
But if I killed him, then they would know he was not the nine tails Jinchūriki. Whenever a Jinchūriki dies, the tailed beast is released.
'They would see through your mask. I understand. Maybe you could just torture him then?'
I… I could do that. But then he might tell on me to Iruka, Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke, or even the Hokage. So that's out of the question.
'Then let Kabuto take care of him.'
I want to be the one to rid the world of Naruto, not some nameless spy. That's why I want to protect my brother.
'Fine then, you win. Go back to the apartment and see if Naruto is alright.' Kurama's voice faded, clearly angry with Tanira for being so difficult.
That was why she wanted to save her brother, right? She just wanted to kill him later, and it wasn't because of some stupid sibling affection, right? Tanira didn't know. She was tired and wanted to sleep for a week. The night had taken more out of her than she thought.
Tanira flew through the air, and in just a couple of minutes, she was back in the apartment and was watching Naruto sleeping rather loudly. She crawled under the bed and decided to read until she fell asleep, as she needed to calm her still racing mind.
Tanira took the book titled 'Cold Wishes' and opened to the puppy-eared page.
The man turned to face the moon, shivering as the wind blew in his face. He-
Kabuto.
…Shivering as the wind blew in his face. He frowned as he recognised an extremely strong chakra nearby, and turned to face a small-
Dangerous.
…And turned to face a small child, who was clutching a doll that had a short red dress and bouncing golden curls, almost identical-
Naruto.
…bouncing golden curls, almost identical to the child's. The man smiled and crouched down, so he was face height with the child. He was about to ask for the child's name, but he found he-
In danger.
…but he found he could not move his lips to make the right sounds. He brought his hands to his mouth in confusion and screamed as best he could; his mouth had completely disappeared.
Tanira couldn't concentrate long enough to properly read what was happening in the book. She had read this part many times, and although it didn't scare her like it used to, she normally got some kind of shocked or sinister reaction from reading it.
She wasn't able to stop figuring out the puzzle that was Kabuto, no matter how much she was trying to ignore him. He was too much of a mystery, and Tanira didn't like mysteries. She liked to know everything, or at least feel like she knew everything.
This man had thrown her for a loop. Tanira had to control herself from jumping out of the window and searching for the man to ask more questions. With a deep breath, she crawled from under the bed and sat in the middle of the room, crossing her legs and closing her eyes.
Perhaps if she meditated, she would be able to make herself at least briefly forget the Shinobi and clear her mind enough to go to sleep. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and slowly relaxed her muscles.
She imagined that every breath she took coursed through her body; that air rushing in her mouth, down her throat, and spreading to the tips of her fingers and toes. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep in the middle of the room and dreaming of murdering Naruto.
She would figure out Kabuto later.
Um okay. Well, have fun :)
Thanks to all of the people who have reviewed, favourited and/or followed so far:
Incendie de Glace
KafeiDetour
MichiyoYuki (special thanks for the reviews and favourite as well as the follow)
Yamiroo Alice (special thanks for the review as well as the follow)
ZeroZangetsu
cryingSparda
lluc123
pizzas are immortal
slytheringirl22
stuckXrunningXupXthatXhill
midnight star237
sarge234
iamgoku
Cooklu
Erin Michaels
Yuriko-Rurina
ShadowWolfAlchemist
KuroShiro-San
Kit
We're almost caught up :'( And then it's highly likely that there will be no more updates on this story.
