[Part 2: Life As a Sound Shinobi]
Jutsu – bold & italic
Flashback - italic
Chapter 12: Ninja of Snakes
"Bastard. I won't let him get away." Jumping on the trees, I search for that little rat that pissed me off.
Where are you?
Then suddenly a flash of yellow and black appears on view. "Found ya."
Increasing my speed, I try to catch up with him, but he was too fast and I lost track of him. What I wish for Karin to be here right now. Stopping on a branch, I listen for any sound he makes. By concentrating chakra in my ears making them sharper and keener, I search for him.
A tick tock there, a tick tock here. Birds chirping above and frogs croaking below. The breeze of the wind rustles the leaves around. Then, a soft thud. It sounds like it impacted on a sturdy wood. A branch... It's him... And his getting closer.
Smirking, I reach for my trusted flute. Even after almost five years, it's still alive. Although it had accumulated a number of scratches, it's fine and ready for battle. Placing it near my lips, I breathe out a sound melody. A voice yells then a body falls to the ground. Grinning, I make my way to him.
As I approach and touch the unmoving form, it suddenly poofs up in smoke. Coughing and fanning away the smoke, I wait for it to dissipate to see a log lying where the body should be.
I hear a rustling of leaves from behind. Turning around, I see a blonde boy appear, lunging forward and tackling me to the ground.
Before hitting the dirt, I place my foot to his stomach and kick him away. He stumbles backward while I push my arms to the ground, jumping and landing in my feet.
Looking up to him, He dashes toward me. He reels back a fist and jabs. I block it with my left hand and counter with a fist of my own. He dodges the punch to his face, grabbing my arm and twisting it to my back. He pushes me to the ground, placing his weight on top off me.
I squirm around first trying to break free before slumping on the ground.
"Giving up Tayuya."
"In your dreams." Grabbing dirt from the ground, I throw it at his face.
He was surprised at first but dodges it at the last second. But it was just what I needed to break free. His grip loosens and the weight shifts. Rolling to my side and yanking my hand free, I push my other hand to the ground, kicking him and cart wheeling away.
"That hurt you know." He was rubbing his left cheek where my kick landed.
"Don't be such a wuss." I grin
"And you cheated too."
"Pssshhh. All is fair in war." I say, rolling my eyes.
"Then it's only fair if I use my top speed." He smiles.
"Top speed. Yeah right." I stare at his gentle smile. Then suddenly, it was gone. Blinking a few times as confusion took place, I look around the area. He wasn't here or there or anywhere. Where did he disappear to?
"I'm right here Tayuya." He whispers from behind, answering as if he read my mind.
Shit. He's fast.
I swerve around and try to block his attack. But it was too late. Somehow he pinned me again to the ground.
"Great spar Tayuya. You're getting good."
I snort at his compliment.
"And getting sneakier."
I smirk.
"But unfortunately for you, the score is now forty-nine to zero." He grins.
I groan. It's so embarrassing that I never ever won any of our sparring matches. He's just too good. The weight on top of me lifts and he offers a hand. I take it and say a small "Thanks."
"You're welcome Tayuya." He smiles.
As I got up, I brush away the dirt that I had accumulated when we were sparring. Taijutsu isn't really my thing. It's not my strong point unlike him.
We head to a small lake deeper into forest. I wash my hands and face in the water, letting its cool touch sip into my skin. Opening my eyes, I look at my refection. Deep brown eyes stared right back at me. Long red hair tied to a pony. A black tank top and a black headband with the Sound symbol on it. Looking at the reflection beside mine, I see blonde hair and grey eyes.
"Is that..." I say, pointing at his right shoulder where three purple marks were tattooed on his skin.
He touches it and rubs it gently. "Yeah, it's the mark of my clan."
A mark of a clan. I wonder what's my mark. If I had a clan.
"Tayuya."
I look away from his mark and to his eyes. "Yeah?"
"Your taijutsu is getting better and better every week."
"Yeah right." I snort. "You always beat me in our sparring matches."
"Yeah, I know but..." He pauses then continues. "Don't forget you always beat me in shogi."
I sigh, walking to a shade in a tree. "Is that supposed to make me feel any better? So what if I win... It's just a game." I sit on the tree, resting my head. He follows and sits beside me. He didn't say anything. We just sat there in comfortable silence.
"You know." He says.
"Hmmmmn."
"You may not have brawns-"
I give him a glare.
"-but you have brains."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Even if you're not good at taijutsu-"
"Thanks for pointing that out." I say sarcastically.
"Ahem, anyway as I was saying. You're not that good at taijutsu-"
"Just say that I suck at it." I grumble. I'm getting more and more depressed if he keeps saying that.
"Um...could I continue?"
I nod my head and sigh.
"But you're good at shogi."
I heave a deep long sigh.
"Tayuya. Please stop sulking. Just listen to what I have to say."
"Hmmmmn"
He gives me a smile. "You're so good at shogi that you haven't lost any single game since Itsuki-sensei introduced it to you. Do you know what that means?"
"No. What?" I say with disinterest.
"Come on Tayuya. Take a guess."
"Uh...because it doesn't have to do anything of any physical feat."
"Really. I thought you'd be smarter than that." He grins.
I glare at him.
He chuckles. "Really Tayuya." He laughs and my glare intensified. I wait for his laugh to die down before he spoke up again. "The reason why you always win at shogi is because...you're smart."
"What do you mean? You're confusing me."
"What is shogi?"
"A game. Duh."
He rubs the back of his head. "Yeah but. What kind of game is it?"
"Um...a board game." I don't really get what he is going on about.
He sighs. "A strategic game."
My eyes widens as comprehension dawns on me.
"I see you get it now. You're good at making strategies. That's why you always win at shogi. Even if you fight an opponent much stronger than you, if you make up a good strategy, you can win the battle."
I nod in understanding. If I could make up a good strategy, I could win a battle even a sparring match. I smile.
"Hey." I say.
"Yeah."
"Could you play me a song?"
He smiles at me then produces a light yellow colored ocarina from his pouch. He plays a soft sweet melody. I close my eyes as I remember the first time I heard his song.
It was a bright sunny day. I was training outside the hideout. Not that far but not too near. Sensei told me that I should practice my taijutsu since it needs a lot more practicing. I was so tired and I needed some fresh air so that's why I continued my training above ground.
After I finished, I lay down under a shade of a tree. I was beat and wanted to rest there for a while until my stomach complained. I was so hungry. I hadn't had any breakfast yet. I wanted to go inside to eat some food, but I was too tired and too lazy to get off my ass. As I lay there resting and ignoring the grumbling for food, I heard a melody coming from a flute...or what sounded like a flute.
Opening my eyes, I saw a blonde haired boy sitting above on a branch of my tree, playing an ocarina. His eyes were closed while he played his instrument. Closing my eyes again, I listened to the blonde boy's soothing melody until he stopped.
"What's your name?" He asked.
I opened an eye to examine him. He had shoulder-length, blond hair and grey eyes and wore a lavender long-sleeved shirt with a green scarf along with dark pants and shoes.
"Isn't it customary to introduce yourself first before asking someone else's name?" I said.
"Oh." He rubs the back of his head. "My name is Yukito."
"Tayuya."
"Catch." He tossed an apple.
Catching It, I said a small "Thanks."
"You're welcome Tayuya." He smiled "I saw you training today. You look tired. Let me help you."
He played his ocarina again. Then suddenly I felt my strength regaining. What the? Sitting up, I saw him smiling at me.
"Did you just..."
"You're welcome." He said.
I shook my head, a small smile on my face. "Thanks."
~oOoOoOo~
After the resting up for a bit we head back inside the hideout. Weaving a series of hand signs, the secret entrance opens at the base of the huge tree. We head down the staircase to a dim corridor, turning left to a t-junction then right and right again to a t-junction, and finally turning left.
As we reach my room, Yukito waves goodbye. "I'll see you later." He walks ahead as his room was further up.
"Yeah." I say, watching his form fade to darkness. Opening the door, I walk inside.
The room was bare as always. A bed and a bedside drawer with an unlit candle on top. I take of my pony and let my hair loose. Then striping all my clothes as I enter the shower.
Turning on the shower, the water washes the dirt, grime, and sweat from training. My mind wanders back to the first time I came here with Lord Orochimaru and Karin. I sigh, wondering when they'll be back. When will I ever see them again?
"Goodbye Tayuya." Karin embraced me, and I to her back. "I hope we meet again."
"Goodbye Karin." I whispered.
"Karin. Kabuto. Let's go." Lord Orochimaru commanded.
Before they left, I called out once again to him. "Lord Orochimaru." He stopped and turned to look at me. "C- can't I come with you?" I pleaded.
"Tayuya. You need to stay here and train to become a ninja. I thought you wanted that."
"I do." I nod in defeat. "But... Will I ever see you again?" I looked at Lord Orochimaru and then at Karin.
Lord Orochimaru chuckled. "Don't worry dear child. I look forward to see the fruits of your training."
Then with that, they left me alone in the hideout. Of course I wasn't exactly alone. But still... I didn't know anyone else in there except my new sensei.
Grabbing the soap, I scrub all over my body and wash it with water. After the refreshing shower, I dried myself up and put on my usual clothes. A dark blue shirt with a tan vest on top. Dark pants that went just below the knees and black sandals. A snake patterned scarf and my sound ninja headband.
Plopping down on the bed, I comb my long red hair. I probably should cut it since it reached down to my waist. I'll cut it later.
I reach for my flute and play a simple melody. After that I just lie down on the bed. This is the same room I came to when Karin and I roomed here.
"Come in." Karin said.
A young man opened the door. "Lord Orochimaru asks if you two are hungry."
My stomach suddenly grumbled.
The man sweat dropped. "I take that as a yes."
We followed him to a room, a kitchen actually. There was a small table in the far side and on top of it were two plates with food.
As we ate, the door opened. A tall man with long dark hair tied to a pony walked inside and grabbed some food. He stared at us with his black eyes. I tried not to look at him but I could still feel his stare.
Getting annoyed and being distracted from eating, I had enough. "Is there something on our faces?" I stared at him in his eyes.
He chuckled. "I heard that Lord Orochimaru brought two new kids at the hideout. And I'm curious as to why he did."
"Just ignore him." Karin whispered.
I nod, taking my attention back to my food and completely ignoring his stare. I won't see him anyway anytime soon. I'll be busy with my training when I meet my sensei.
Little did I know that the next day when Lord Orochimaru summoned me, I saw that man again.
"Lord Orochimaru. You called me." I said.
"Tayuya. For you to be a shinobi, you will train under a genjutsu specialist from the Shiin clan... Itsuki." He called.
A brush of wind and a flicker of the candle light, a man suddenly appeared before Lord Orochimaru. He had dark long hair tied to a pony and wore a light purple vest and dark pants and sandals. A snake patterned scarf was on his neck.
"My Lord." His voice was deep and intimidating.
"Itsuki. You will take an apprentice. Train her and make her a shinobi."
The man, Itsuki, faced me and my eyes widened as I instantly recognized the man before me.
"Y- you!" I said, pointing at him.
"Hmmmph. I see you remember me, girl." He grinned.
"Y- you're that creepy weird dude from yesterday!"
I smile at the memory. At first we didn't get along and I had a rough day on the first week. We were just two different people. But when I saw him in action, I came to respect him and in turn he respected me as well. As time went past, I felt closer and closer to him like having a new family again. But I didn't act upon it. If I form another bond, I'm afraid I might just loose it again. And besides, it will just distract me from my goal.
A knock from the door brings me back to reality.
"It's open." I say.
The door opens and a young man enters. "Itsuki calls for your presence at the south east training chamber."
"Okay."
Grabbing my flute, I head for the training chamber. I wonder what's up. Usually we do our training in mornings and afternoons. Sometimes we train at night on special occasions, but not that much. And since it's almost dinner time, I'm not sure what to expect.
As I arrive at my destination, I open the door to a wide chamber. The place was dark as always. Torches were lit around the room. Two figures were present in the middle of the room. One was Itsuki-sensei but the other's face was obscured by the darkness.
"Itsuki-sensei. You called me."
"Actually. It was Lord Orochimaru who requested you're presence."
My eyes widen in surprise. Lord Orochimaru is here. I look at the other person in the room. And when I saw the face, it was him. He came back.
"Tayuya." He speaks. And there's no question it's his voice.
"L- lord Orochimaru. Y- you're here. Y- you're back."
He chuckles and I blush at embarrassment. I must look stupid again.
"It's been four years."
"Y- yes...my Lord." I look him. He had an amused expression. A small smile crept up my lips. I guess nothing changed. It's still him. Looking around I try to see if Karin was around. But I didn't see her anywhere.
"Karin is currently in the southern hideout." Lord Orochimaru says as if he read my mind.
"I understand. And thank you Lord Orochimaru. If you hadn't left me here, I wouldn't have learned so much."
He smirks. "Well then, I look forward in seeing how much you've grown."
"Yes sir." I ready my flute and about to show the man who showed me the road to ninja. That was until my stomach suddenly chose the exact important time to complain and grumble for its need of food.
I could feel my cheeks burning up in embarrassment. Talk about wrong timing. I hear Itsuki-sensei stifle a laugh and Lord Orochimaru chuckles in amusement. I look down on the floor flushed red.
"Tayuya." Itsuki-sensei calls. "I think you should eat dinner first."
"But Itsuki-sensei. I have to show Lord Orochimaru the fruits of my training."
"You're sensei is right child." Lord Orochimaru says. "You can show it to me tomorrow."
"But...I..." I sigh. "I understand."
~oOoOoOo~
A sweet melody encircles my room as I play my flute. I couldn't sleep and really bored so I decided to practice until I get tired and sleepy. I was enjoying my leisure time when someone knocks on my door.
"Come in." I say.
The door opens and Itsuki-sensei comes in.
"Sensei." I say, surprised. I didn't expect him to visit me this late of hour.
"Tayuya, bring your things and come with me." He says in a serious tone. Something's wrong. Usually sensei's laid back and jokey unless something is urgent or important or both.
"Are we training this midnight?" I ask.
"Yeah. I've got something planned for tonight's special training." He smiles.
"Okay." I grab my ninja gear and follow Itsuki-sensei out to wherever the hell we'll be training. We stop at a large metal double door. It looked very familiar.
"You stay here." Itsuki-sensei commands.
I nod.
He silently opens the door and walks in. I wonder why he is sneaking. I look at the door again. And I'm pretty sure this place is familiar...hey...isn't this Lord Orochimaru's quarters. Why's sensei sneaking inside Lord Orochimaru's room?
The door opens and Itsuki-sensei appears. He looked troubled and anxious. Now I'm definitely sure something's wrong.
"Sensei."
"Let's go Tayuya." He goes on ahead and I catch up to him.
"Sensei, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong Tayuya." He says, still not looking at me.
"Why'd you gone inside Lord Orochimaru's quarters?"
He stops from his tracks. He didn't answer my question. He only stood there with his back toward me. Only silence permeates the dim corridor.
"S- sensei."
"..."
"Sensei what's-"
"Tayuya. Obey my orders and I'll spare your life."
"W- what?" What did he just say? "Sensei. What're you saying?"
"Just follow my commands and you'll be spared."
"Is this some kind of training? A test?"
"Tayuya." He looks at me with cold black eyes. And I knew he was dead serious.
"O- okay." I say submissively.
"Good." He moves forward again, leading me toward the exit.
"Sensei."
"..."
"You taught me how to be a ninja so I...trust you know what you're doing."
He sighs but didn't spare me glance. "Just be a good girl Tayuya. Everything will be fine."
I reach for my flute inside my pouch. "I'm grateful you know. For teaching me and making me strong."
This time he looks back at me. But he was too late as I had already cast a powerful genjutsu. Jutsu that he taught me.
He crumples to the ground, and I pant in exhaustion as the jutsu took heavy chakra from me. Slumping to the floor, I look at him with sad eyes. I'm so confused. What just happened?
I try to calm myself but suddenly an explosion erupts. A loud piercing ringing sound irritates my ears. The ground shakes and falling debris blasts away. Smoke and dust covered the air. I cough as I inhaled some.
Squinting, I look around. The damage from the blast, Itsuki-sensei, any injuries, and the source of the explosion. A figure approaches, and I stand up, ready to fight the intruder. I cough again. Fanning away the dust covered air. I try to distinguish the figure.
"Tayuya." It calls. And I knew that voice anywhere.
"Lord Orochimaru. What happened?"
"It seems that other members of the Shiin clan planned a coup d'état." He says with disdain.
"A coup." I say with disbelief.
"And also planned for my assassination."
Is that why Itsuki-sensei went to Lord Orochimaru's quarters? But my Lord is alive. That means he didn't see him inside and looked troubled when he came out. So sensei is...
I look at Lord Orochimaru in the eyes. "My Lord. I have apprehended one of the traitors and a would be assassin." I say, pointing at the crumpled form of my traitorous sensei. "He's knocked out. I cast an advanced genjutsu on him so he won't be escaping for a while."
"Excellent child." He gives me an approving nod. "Now, go round up the other traitorous snakes."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
I run towards the exit where I could hear a battle taking place. Steel clashing against steel. Ninja fighting ninja. Comrades that ate, trained and fought together were now killing each other. The enemy wore black cloths wrapped around their heads with only their eyes shown.
The sound of musical instruments penetrates the moon filled night sky. Genjutsu. The clans' jutsu specialty. The air around me changes and I knew I was being caught trap in a genjutsu. Closing my eyes, concentrating and stopping the flow of my chakra, I force a powerful surge of chakra to disrupt the genjutsu. "Release."
Playing a genjutsu of my own, I weave a double illusion to the traitorous scum so they can't break it easily. But still there were others who broke free although very few.
As the minutes passed by, we eventually overpowered the traitors. And they ordered a retreat. What a bunch of coward rats. Picking up speed, my comrades and I chased the fleeing scum either knocking them out then capture or by simply ending their lives.
Catching up to an enemy, I throw two kunai at his head. But he dodges it and throws a kunai of his own. I block it with a kunai and resume the chase. He was fast I'll give that but I can catch him. Concentrating chakra on my feet, I give a burst of speed.
As I near him, he suddenly turns back around, lunging forward. Surprise flashes across my face, and I try to get out of the way. But my sudden burst of speed propelled me toward him and I couldn't dodge. He tackles me to the ground but before I hit the grass, I place my foot on his stomach and kick him aside. I land of the ground, but quickly recovered. A blur of black and purple flashes and on instinct, I raise up my arms in defense as he tried to sucker punch me. Jumping backwards, I produce two kunai and throw it at him. He dodges and dashes towards me.
He jabs at my gut, but I block with my left, countering with my right. He moves aside, dodging the incoming fist and kneeing me in the gut. I stumble back and raise my arms to block his onslaught of fists.
Shit!
Jumping back, I throw another set of kunai at him but was blocked. I need to get away from him. This guy's fast and good taijutsu. Something I'm at a disadvantage with.
The guy suddenly breaks through my defenses and gives me a solid kick in the gut. Skidding on the grass, I try to get up but he quickly pins me to the ground.
Shit!
"Give up!" He says.
"Go to hell!" I spit on his face. And that moment of distraction is all I need to slip arm and elbow him in the face. He stumbles back, while I quickly retreated to the trees.
Forming a ram, snake and tiger hand seal, I produce two clones. They lunge at him, kunai in their hands. He dodges and attacks them but he'll soon know it's only a clone as he slips past through them. A good distraction for my genjutsu.
'Demonic Flute: Paralyzing Sound Wave'.
The guy stops in his tracks, his hands covering his ears. His knees buckle up and he couldn't stand any longer. The two clones disappear as I drop to the ground, walking toward him. He sits there panting and shaking. I'll admit that he's skilled than the others I captured or killed, but he's no match for my jutsu. I couldn't see his face because of the cloth hiding his identity. But when we were battling, I felt that I somehow knew him.
My heart races as I loom over his shaking form. Reaching for the cover on his head, I pull it off and I gasp out in shock...