Yuri was greeted by a large man with blonde hair and black eyes. He had a small beard and did not seem to be too smart. Yuri rubbed her eyes with her hands and lowered the hood of her cloak. Her now turquoise eyes glimmered in the sunlight. She gave the man a reassuring smile as he gaped at her slightly swollen hands.
"Let me help you." He called out to several men that had been hiding in the trees that he was taking a break. A high pitch sound erupted from somewhere amongst the trees. Yuri frowned as the man led her away.
He lived in a small house with three rooms. He put on a pot of water as soon as he entered the place and directed her towards the bathroom. Yuri filled the tub with steaming hot water and slowly removed her clothes. She grimaced as the hot water soaked her hands. The skin began to peel the longer she let them sit in the water. She stood and half dried off because of the pain in her hand. She was about to redress in what she'd worn when the door opened and clothes were tossed into the bathroom. Her foot pushed several of the items aside until she found a long sleeved cotton shirt and black tights. The shirt reached her knees and the tights were perfect. She pressed her lips together in pain as she opened the door and eased out the bathroom. The tall blonde man motioned to a large bowl on the table that contained a purple liquid. She eyed him suspiciously.
"I had a sister your age." He smiled at her. "Come on. I promise it will help your hands before they swell up too large and burst from the infection."
She sighed and sat down in the chair so that she slid her hands into the liquid. A sound rose in her throat as she pulled her hands away; they were on fire. She stumbled away from her chair and slowly eased towards the wall. Her eyes went as round as saucers as the pain exploded up her arms. Why had she agreed to go with him so eagerly? "Bastard."
"My sister left me a year ago. She ran away with a man she was seeing secretly." He lifted a mug and sipped its hot contents. "Also, I saw your eyes before you had a chance to do that little jutsu there."
"M-my eyes…what?" Poison. He'd tried to poison her. Pain erupted in her shoulder as if someone had hit them with a boulder. Her back pressed against the wall as she slid down to the floor. She wasn't supposed to die there. She had to find her father!
"When I was younger, a man with eyes like that told me he could help me. Instead, he made me devote myself to him and he…he messed up everything I knew. They experimented with me. When he found that I was another dead end…"
Yuri blinked blindly. Had she done it? The pain in her shoulders was receding, but the pain in her arms was going to drive her insane. She moved her hand up her thigh and removed a kunai. She slowly slid the sharp blade across her arm. Black blood began to pool in front of her.
"What are you doing?!" He moved towards her.
Yuri lifted the kunai towards him. She wasn't in much pain anymore, but she felt so faint. She struggled to her feet when the blood running down her arm was light red again. She rested a hand over the cut and stared at the man as blue chakra flew out and healed the wound. Her hands pressed together tightly. "I am going to kill you. Then, I am going to take some of your blood to help me. After that, I'm going to go to sleep in your room. When I get ready to leave later, I will take your food and more clothes." She smiled at him.
The man laughed. "You think you can kill me? You can barely stand."
Yuri pulled the string from the nape of the shirt and pulled her long black hair up into a ponytail. "Don't let me hit you."
His fist slammed into her face before she could even lift her hands to block. She rubbed her jaw and pressed herself against the wall again. This cannot be happening. She felt like some kind of rag doll as he grabbed her by the hair and threw her across the room. She landed on the couch. What? She would have laughed if the man hadn't appeared in front of her almost as fast as she had landed. She rolled over to dodge a well aimed punch. Her foot slammed down onto his skull as she jumped away. His fingers tangled in her long black hair as he snatched her towards him. Thump.
"Why exactly were you at the gate? You can't even fight." Yuri turned to him with a smile. She shoved him onto the couch as he made an attempt to remove the kunai in his chest. He stared at the one on his side. She had stabbed him when he pulled her against him. "I've decided I won't need your blood, but I do need to get to sleep right after I eat." She went into the kitchen and ate the cold noodles and chicken in the refrigerator and drank a glass of water. Her figure paused at the couch where the man sat looking stunned. "You're going to die slowly. They're poisoned."
His bedroom was small with a large futon. She fell asleep as soon as her body collided with the overwhelming softness. She dreamed. She walked around a village she did not recognize with a child holding her hand. It was a girl. She pulled Yuri towards a dark alley. She looked into the child's eyes that reminded her so much of her own. The path behind her had suddenly become the way she knew to get home from the village in the fire. The child pulled harder to lead her into the dark alley. Light erupted at the end of the path and distorted the many things that had been hidden before. Yuri gasped and yanked her hand away as the light grew so large that she thought it would burn her. She backed away and screamed as the distortion grew so large that the girl became a part of it.
Yuri sat up in the bed covered in sweat. Great. She crawled from the bed and noticed that it had darkened outside. After going through the chest on the floor, Yuri decided to look under the bed. The man obviously still had clothes that belonged to his sister. She did find a suitcase. Inside was a white kimono with purple water lilies as decorations. She also found a pair of light purple hakama. How convenient for her. She went into the bathroom and washed up quickly and dressed.
The man sat on the couch staring blankly ahead. Yuri clutched the thick black cloak she had found that had gray fur lining the hood. She draped it around her shoulders and searched for food. Her bag was filled by the time she'd decided she should go. The boots she'd taken made crunching sound in the snow as she moved closer into town. A few people looked her away as she passed but not enough to cause alarm. She stopped beside an elderly woman sitting against an abandoned house wrapped in blankets. Yuri dug her hand into her pocket and dropped several coins in front of the woman. She sat down with her feet folded beneath her. The woman tried to lean forward so she could see underneath the hood of the cloak. Yuri lowered her head.
"Where do you bury dead ninja?" Yuri lifted a pair of pearl earrings from her pocket. After making sure the woman could see them, she added, "And where can I find information on Orochimaru?"
The old woman stood and shook the blanket before draping it across her shoulders. "Come."
Yuri stood and watched the woman walk ahead of her a way. Had she not just gotten into to trouble following someone? She chewed on her lower lip and cast a sideways glance at the man watching her from the noodle shop across the road. He lifted his eyebrows and went back to the bread he was rolling when he realized she was staring at him. Yuri pulled her cloak tighter and quickly caught up with the woman.
"I don't purposely lead people to their deaths, miss." The old woman's laughter was cut off by a fit of coughs. She nodded when Yuri touched her on the shoulder. "Fine, fine. The resting place for dead shinobi is to the east. I will take you to the person you want to see." The old woman smiled at her from over her shoulder.
Yuri looked at every detail as the woman led her towards the outside of the village. They walked towards a large cliff where the woman easily pushed a boulder aside and motioned for Yuri to follow. The way was lit with torches. They turned west at the first dissection and continued forward until they reached another fork. The old woman pressed her hand against the wood gently. The wall gave away to a small passage. Yuri followed her inside. She stopped abruptly and took Yuri's hands into her own. Without speaking, purple chakra poured from her and healed the Yuri's hands almost completely. There were still a few bruises from where some of the blisters had burst. She nodded to the girl as they moved forward.
It was a poorly lit room that looked like a large dungeon. Chains were on the north side of the wall. A man sat on a cushion deep in conversation with another man and a woman. He looked up when the old woman stepped onto the cobblestone.
"What are you doing here?" The man with shoulder length black hair stood.
"Just helping out an old friend." The old woman dropped the blanket and stepped forward. Her face suddenly became younger. The gray hair that was tangled on her head fell down her back in an ebony curtain. She cast dark green eyes towards Yuri. "This girl came and asked me about the cemetery."
"So?" The man frowned at her.
"She also asked me about Lord Orochimaru."
The man looked at Yuri quickly. "Lower your hood."
Yuri did as she was told. She raised her hands innocently. "I'm a traveling musician. I was attacked in a village a little north of here in the land of fire. I don't know which village it was. They took everything I had but my earrings. I heard this guy might be able to help me."
The man with the black hair frowned. "I am Iwasuke. I regret to tell you that Lord Orochimaru is dead."
The man sitting in front of him lurched slightly. He stood with sweat racing along his forehead. "I am Kabuto. I-I was there when Orochimaru died. He's telling…" The man tilted his head slightly.
"She does have a jutsu on her eyes." The woman with the long black hair had somehow managed to ease closer to the others. She winked at Yuri.
"Who are you, really?" Iwasuke asked as he frowned at Kabuto. He had begun to walk towards Yuri with eyes widened with fascination.
"I know you!" Kabuto lunged for her, but she evaded him easily.
Her cloak fell to the floor. Iwasuke stepped forward with a raised eyebrow and parted lips. His hand formed into a fist as he moved down the stairs and towards her. His black hair seemed to float out behind him. He smiled at her gently. His eyes were a light shade of blue that reminded her of the daytime sky. He held his hand out to her. His lips stretched into a smile when she took it. "Kabuto is not used to people visiting." He cast a glare towards the pale haired man. "Tell me about who you are looking for."
Yuri smiled at him. He felt so warm. She wanted to wrap her arms around his waist and stand there with him enveloping her forever. "Foshikata Yuri." Her mother had been buried with her maiden name. She looked up at the man that held her hand. He had stopped walking.
"Any reason why?" His breathing was even and deep. He smiled knowingly. "She was your mother." He chuckled.
"Kabuto does know you, doesn't he? You're obviously the little bastard Lord Orochimaru fathered with that bitch that abandoned her own village." The woman had stood now. Her pale skin matched the color of Kabuto's hair, but her eyes and hair were as black as the night.
Yuri snatched away from Iwasuke. "How dare you…"
"You dare me?" Her gloved hands appeared from within her kimono. "You? Who would come searching for people after they have died? Cowards do not dare others."
Iwasuke stared at the pale woman. "Lana, would you really like to fight this girl?" He looked at the other woman. "And you, Ishinada?"
Lana's eyes blazed with a light of pure fury. "Yes, I want to rip her into pieces."
The woman called Ishiniada frowned. "Why on Earth would I want to kill a girl that is obviously my sister's child?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"She killed your brother." Iwasuke smiled at Yuri.
Ishinada nodded. "Yes, but he attacked her. Had he known who she really was, they both would probably be here now. Regardless, I do not knowingly kill those of my blood."
"She killed Okinata?" The pale woman's face appeared to go pure white. "You're just a girl."
Iwasuke draped an arm around Yuri's shoulder. "Orochimaru's girl." He laughed. "Come, Yuri. Lana wants to fight you. Be on your toes. She is experienced."
"Wait." Ishinada glanced at an uncaring Lana. "If by some sick stroke of misfortune you win, I will kill you." She then looked at Yuri. "She's the one that kidnapped your mother. Tell her what happened, Lana." Ishinada's hands formed into fists.
"You came here for Lana." Iwasuke stepped forward.
"Yes. I waited until I had a chance to get in here. How would I know fortune would fall upon me so that a girl that looks exactly like my sister would appear? Considering that I knew she had a jutsu on her eyes, I figured she was your Lord's child. My Yuri died right after her child's birth. I also knew that once she knew the truth, she would help me." Ishinada smiled. "There, Lana, talk to the daughter of the two people you helped to kill."
Dun dun dun… I've always held the idea that Sasuke could not have single-handedly killed Orochimaru. Realistically.
