Huh, this has to be the fastest one I've written yet.
Baransu grinned as he and Surudoi tied up the target. As they did, Baransu inquired to Supaiku's absence. She shrugged, stating that Supaiku had broken pursuit when he realized he had forgotten to take Kawaii with. Baransu sighed. He had completely forgotten that Kawaii 'couldn't' run. Honestly, how far would he go to prove a point? After they relocated Supaiku, who had found Kawaii and now was carrying him on his shoulders.
Kawaii looked embarrassed and apologized for his falling behind. When Baransu decided to attempt to trip him up, stating that he thought Kawaii couldn't walk or do pretty much anything, Kawaii infuriated him by smiling and stating 'why do you think I fell behind?' Baransu was still infuriated as they made their way to the Rensakage's room, Baransu carrying the bound genin. When they entered the Rensakage's office, Baransu immediately noticed the Rensakage's gaze focus on Kawaii for a moment.
Soon the Rensakage asked about how the mission went. During this time, she continued to look at Kawaii, as if she was watching for something. When the mission details were done, Supaiku gently let Kawaii down. Kawaii then stumbled his way over to the Rensakage, asking if he could have a ride on her shoulders. The Rensakage's eyes narrowed. "No, I don't think so."
Kawaii seemed startled as he timidly looked away. "Y-you don't . . . but why not? It would be fun!"
The Rensakage grinned, catching Baransu, Surudoi, and Supaiku off-guard when she suddenly began making hand-signs. "Because you're not Kawaii!"
'Kawaii' looked startled as chains shot out of the Rensakage's sleeves at him. Baransu's eyes opened wide as 'Kawaii' evaded the chains with speed he shouldn't have been able to do. While Baransu certainly thought the real Kawaii was exaggerating about his crippled state, this Kawaii moved too fast for Baransu to keep up with.
As a kunai appeared in the imposter's hand, he lunged at the Rensakage. The Rensakage easily parried with a chain before tossing back the imposter some distance. The imposter cocked his head as he licked his lips. When he spoke, his slithery voice made the hairs on the back of Baransu's neck stand on end. "What gave it away? I thought I was doing well at imitating the paralysis."
The Rensakage grinned. "The real Kawaii would have thanked Supaiku for the ride instead of just walking forwards. He's got his 'polite' personality down to a fault. Now where's the real Kawaii . . . Orochimaru?"
Baransu's eyes went wide as Orochimaru chuckled, transforming back into himself. "Oh, well. It can't be helped."
The Rensakage gave Orochimaru a glare as she spoke. "Where's Kawaii?"
Orochimaru grinned. "Right now? Somewhere in the forest. We'll know when he breathes his last because Nanabi will appear."
Orochimaru practically flew over to the Rensakage, grinning as he stood eye-to-eye with her. "It's too bad, isn't it? If only you had kept your part of the bargain, then Kawaii could not only have lived, but he could have lived a normal life. I told you, a child that wouldn't be missed."
The Rensakage gnashed her teeth as she slammed a fist against the table. "It was a good thing that I did mess up then! If I had known it was you, then so much could have changed! I am not proud of my actions during that time!"
Orochimaru chuckled before he turned to face Baransu and the group, his eyes stopping on Supaiku. As Orochimaru licked his lips, he began to pace the room. "I wonder . . . do they know of what we did? Well as a thank-you gift for letting me ride on your shoulders, Supaiku, how about I tell you about something . . . interesting?"
Supaiku had out his surujin, but Orochimaru simply chuckled. "Are you aware of Fuu's disappearance?"
Supaiku gulped, but Orochimaru wasn't waiting for an answer. "Well, something was done wrong with Fuu's seal, allowing her at times to get corrupted by Nanabi's anger. She would go into a rage and it was quite a dangerous and terrifying sight. So when Fuu came here, I approached your Rensakage here with a deal."
Orochimaru grinned as he turned to face the Rensakage. "I would fix the problem, and all she would have to do was bring a young child to an abandoned house. Just in case something went wrong, I warned her to bring a child that wouldn't be missed. She failed to do that. Instead, she brought me Kawaii."
As Orochimaru turned and faced Baransu, Baransu . . . he just couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But . . . no, you have to be lying! The Rensakage wouldn't do that!"
Orochimaru chuckled as he turned to face the Rensakage. "You can counter my claims at any time, my dear."
The Rensakage's face contorted with anger, but then she looked away, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I had no idea . . . he came to me disguised, his words were so convincing . . . I found Kawaii with his parents, random common people that were just passing through. So I . . . ugh, I still can't believe I did it! I kidnapped him, and brought him where Orochimaru had instructed."
Orochimaru grinned as Baransu felt like he was slugged in the stomach. How could she . . . as Baransu tried to comprehend it, Orochimaru chuckled cruelly. "And I came through with my part. I fixed the problem. I transferred Nanabi from Fuu to Kawaii while at the same time getting ready to strike at Nanabi's mind. I believe that's when Kawaii's parents intervened and disrupted my focus?"
The Rensakage gave a quick nod. Orochimaru grinned before he continued. "And his parents did something so noble and so annoying. They attempted to stop me. While they didn't truly succeed, they did manage to disrupt my focus. And that disruption"
Orochimaru grinned as he looked past Baransu. "-Is the 'accident' that damaged your brain, Kawaii."
Baransu heard a gasp he knew well then turned around to find Kawaii standing there, a look of complete shock on his face. Orochimaru chuckled as Kawaii looked away, but to Baransu's shock Kawaii spoke to Orochimaru, his voice impossibly steady. "But all you would have had to do was seal Nanabi within me, why did you attack her mind?"
Orochimaru grinned. "Why? Because that would stop her emotions from taking over you in the event that you used her chakra. After all, that was why Fuu was so dangerous. So in a way, I was doing it to protect you."
Kawaii frowned. "Then what happened to my parents? Where are they?"
Orochimaru gave a sympathetic smile. "I understand that you want to see them, but I want you to remember something. They knew the risk of trying to stop my jutsu, in a way they are the reason that you can't move well. Come with me, and I will see what I can do to restore the part of your mind that is rightfully yours."
Kawaii gulped, but then shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, but I won't go with you."
Orochimaru's grin turned cruel. "I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't asking. You are coming with me."
Orochimaru's eyes slanted as he focused his vision on Kawaii. Baransu was shocked when Kawaii gasped, and beads of sweat came down from his face. He violently shivered as he looked at Orochimaru. "W-what . . . what was that?"
Orochimaru simply chuckled as he turned into a blur, aimed for Kawaii. Before Baransu could even flinch, a different blur moved behind Kawaii. Orochimaru stopped, clearly startled as Baransu found that the person behind Kawaii was . . . Itachi. Orochimaru was clearly startled, and Baransu was shocked as Orochimaru fell to his knees, clearly exhausted. "What . . . how?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed as Orochimaru cringed. "Kisame"
As Baransu paled, Kisame practically flew into the room and smashed his sword against Orochimaru's side, sending Orochimaru flying right through the window on the other side of the room. Kisame looked back at Itachi, who motioned towards the window. "Dispose of him if you can, drive him off if you can't. He's taken a Tsukuyomi, but don't let your guard down. I'll join you when I'm done."
Kisame grinned as he leapt out of the window. Baransu kept his eyes on Itachi, but Itachi only had eyes for Kawaii. "Kawaii"
As Kawaii faced Itachi, clearly distressed, Itachi spoke to him. "Orochimaru is dangerous. He makes promises that he never intends to keep and he knows how to get people to do what he wants. Don't let him get inside your head, lest you too fall to his ploy."
Itachi then got up, soon vanishing without a trace. For a while everyone just stood there. What had just happened? Once everyone began recovering from the shock, the Rensakage spoke first. "There. Now you know, Kawaii. That's what I've been hiding all of this time. I adopted you because I was personally responsible for the accident that robbed you of your body as it made you an orphan."
For a while, Kawaii just stood there, clearly in thought. It was a bit before he nodded to himself. "No. Orochimaru was responsible for the accident. He planned it all. My parents were the heroes, they tried to save me. You were as much a victim of the accident as I was. Orochimaru robbed you of so much . . ."
The Rensakage frowned. "What did he rob me of? You lost everything, I didn't lose a single thing. I should have jumped in to stop him, I should have never agreed in the first place."
Kawaii got Baransu by surprise when he smiled at the Rensakage. "He robbed you of your innocence. He took your confidence, he turned you into the villain, he robbed your self-respect, and he crushed you with guilt. Besides"
Kawaii smiled wider as a strange sparkle appeared in his eyes. "I know you did something heroic that day. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't. So come on. We've heard of what you are ashamed of doing. Tell me how I am still here."
The Rensakage flinched before giving a small grin. "As Orochimaru . . . dealt with your parents, I decided that I had to do at least one thing right. I grabbed you and ran from that house. To this day . . . I still don't know how he didn't manage to follow me."
Kawaii smiled at her. When Surudoi began speaking, Kawaii turned to face her. "H-how? Manipulated or not, she robbed you of everything . . . but you're not even a little bit angry at her?"
Kawaii gave a slight smile. "I don't see a reason to be angry. It would be like getting angry at a kunai for hitting you when it was in fact the ninja that had used it."
Surudoi shook her head. "That . . . how? How does this work, how can you just forgive her so easily?"
Kawaii gave a smile as he lifted up his arm, 'pointing' at Surudoi then at Supaiku. "It's how I work. It's why I don't understand why both of you could have hated each other so much that you wanted each other dead solely for the fact that you're of rival clans. I think that peace is the way to joy, and . . . well, haven't you seen my smile?"
Baransu was left speechless as Kawaii smiled at them. For the first time, Baransu began to wonder. What if it wasn't a façade?
Do I detect a shift in Baransu's thoughts? Who knew a giant fight scene could change your opinions of someone? Let's see if I can keep these chapters coming!
