I'm sorry this took so incredibly long! I really am sorry! Summer promotes laziness! Alright, I won't blame it on summer... (I love you, summer!) It was my fault for becoming addicted to several video games all at the same time...
Dude peoples... did you notice how much the Sasame arc in the Naruto anime is stealing stuff from my story? We have Orochimaru's long corridor lined with torches and doors, we have bamboo spikes in trapdoors, we have shuriken flying from the walls, and we even have Itachi's unbreakable chakra threads! ...It kind of scared me. (What's really sad is... I hate the latest Naruto arc... it's boring... and it doesn't make sense... and Sakura's in it...)
Review Responses:
Dragon Man 180- I love Killua's skateboard! Right now, he's kind of down and out though... but I'll try and remember to have him take it out when the story ends... The problem is, all the people who don't know about Killua will just be like 'wtf?'... but who cares? I'm writing it down to put that in. Keep reading Hunter X Hunter... Hisoka is so freaky...
ColdCypher- Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you... (continues)
HikaruOfArrow- Itachi is so awesome... omg... drool...
Rhythmic- Noo... evil, evil McDonald's and its slogan! WHYYYYYYY... Lol, jk! At least you have brain cells left to lose... mine were lost while writing this story. XD
aznpuffyhair- I'm sorry, it's just that cliffhangers seem like such good places to end chapters! They allow me to collect my thoughts about what needs to happen next! I'm really sorry, there's another one in this chapter... Here, um, I offer you these brownies in tribute! Wait, that will just make your shaking worse, won't it? Ehehe... um... gotta go! (runs away)
Crimson Insanity- Who's Akane Kiryu? (just getting image of chibi Naruto running in circles hyperactively) ...Itachi is NOT yours! Mine:D I could argue about that all day... this is obsession to its fullest extent... No! No evil minions! Face my awesome ninja skillz! Ha! XD
Kakashilova- Thank you! Of course I'll do more... I just need to finish this... and the next time I make a story it will be better! MUCH better! I hope.
XoXSilverDragonXoX- Ah, school... that evil place of torturing... Yeah, I need to edit this story alot too... but I just want to finish it first! Because it's so close to the end anyways... who knows, maybe I'll make a sequel? Lots of things would be different though. In a good way. Hopefully. Don't worry, Itachi will do his share of Oro-violence. Everybody gets to go and beat up everyone else it seems... Lots of people seemed to like the Harem no jutsu, and I was worrying about people hating me for it! XD Shows how well I know my reviewers... Freeeeee... Hey you! Update!
younggun- Yeah, Akima got bit... Sorry, I was trying to make everything all confusing at the end... because the pain of the cursed seal is supposed to make you pretty jacked up, right? Sasuke didn't seem to be aware of anything around him... Sorry about that again, but thanks for reviewing!
Akiko- Thanks, I love Gaara, Itachi, and Naruto too! But Itachi the most...
Itachi349- Well, I updated! Don't have to surf the net everyday anymore! Cuz the next chapter's gonna be awhile... Thank you and come again!
Bold words are the demons talking. Italicized words, when used in paragraph form, are inside Akima's mind.
The Voices Only Talk to Me
"Tsunade-sama, thank you for seeing me."
The 5th Hokage leaned forward from her seat behind her desk stacked high with paperwork. She calmly folded her hands together and placed her chin on top of them in order to survey the brown-haired chuunin. "There is no problem, Iruka-sensei. What is it that you wished to ask me about?'
Iruka rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Ah well... Naruto has been out on a mission for a long time... and I was just wondering if I could have access to his mission file so that I can know when he will be returning?"
Tsunade frowned. "I do not recall sending Team 7 on a mission. Sakura-san is still here, I saw her this morning."
"Ah, yes, but Naruto told me that it wasn't a Team 7 mission. It involved Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto, true... but Gai's team members Neji and Lee as well as Shikamaru were involved..." Iruka let out a nervous chuckle.
The Hokage was silent. "This mission did not receive my authorization," she said coldly.
Iruka's eyes widened. "You mean that...?"
Tsunade nodded. "Kakashi is in deep shit. Shizune!"
Shizune stumbled into the room, worried by the urgency of the Hokage's call. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"
"Call me four teams of ANBU. Now."
"Got it." Shizune poofed out. Iruka looked unsurely at the tense Hokage.
"You can leave, Iruka-sensei. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." Iruka bowed and left, feeling fidgety about Naruto's safety.
'Why would Kakashi not authorize his mission?'
In Orochimaru's compound...
"Akima!" Naruto shouted from his vantage point on the other side of the room. 'That snake bastard bit her! Just like he did to Sasuke!' A low growl rumbled from his throat. 'Unforgivable!'
Sasuke lay on the ground, unconscious. The Cursed Seal marks had withdrawn into their Sharingan-shaped seal on his shoulder-neck junction, and it didn't seem as if he would wake up any time soon. Naruto hefted him up soldier-style and crossed the chamber to Akima's side.
Itachi was about as furious as it was possible for him to be, taking into account all of his training to keep himself emotionless, no matter the situation. But attacking one of his subordinates... actually, his only one... it did not fare well with him.
"Listen, snake..." Itachi could feel the throb in his jaw with the effort he put into keeping a calm visage. "If you so much as touch one of my subordinates again..."
"Itachi! Something's wrong with Akima!" shouted Naruto. "Her Cursed Seal is...!"
Itachi turned and watched with growing alarm at the way Akima was convulsing on the ground. The Cursed Seal was already spreading. She was beginning to wake.
"That is odd," said Orochimaru. "It usually takes a great deal more time than that. Usually they will stay in a comatose state for at least one night, since that's generally how long it takes to convince a shinobi to accept my power."
"Orochimaru-sama, perhaps the demon is changing the way that the Cursed Seal acts?" asked Kabuto, stepping towards Akima uncertainly. Itachi blocked his way and Kabuto backed off quickly.
"Probably. We'll have to keep her." Orochimaru smirked. "As well as the sand demon over there. He's acting up too."
Gaara snarled at the snake sennin, still clutching his head as white-hot pain shot through his temples.
"But the girl is the weakest of the demons here. It was a good idea to test the Cursed Seal on her first. If the demon chakra and the cursed chakra mix, it could make an indestructible walking weapon... But if they are not compatible, who knows what the results will be?" Orochimaru turned to Itachi, grinning. "What are you going to do, Itachi? I am the only one who knows how to remove a Cursed Seal. Will you kill me?"
Itachi stared emotionlessly at him, and did not reply.
Meanwhile, with Akima...
'Where am I?'
She was floating in a dark eternity. There was no difference between having her eyes open or closed, no lights, nothing to discern anything from anything else. She attempted to step forward, but could feel no solids beneath her feet, but was unable to fall, and ended up exactly where she had been before, which was... nowhere.
'Hello!' she called. 'Anybody out there?'
'Yes...' A low purr seized her, so deep that it vibrated inside her head, inside her bones. It made her stomach churn and her eyes squint closed, hands clasped over her ears in a futile attempt to keep the noise out.
'Who...?' Akima questioned, immediately closing her eyes and wincing in anticipation of the next blow to her eardrums.
'My name is unknown even to me.' The voice came from much closer this time, and much quieter.
'Well, do you know where we are then?' said Akima, choosing to ignore the voice's puzzling answer.
'We are deep in the depths of your pitiful mortal mind,' it replied bemusedly. 'This is the first time you and I have had a chance to talk.'
A great roar, like a tornado swiftly approaching, cut through the darkness before Akima could have a chance to respond. Akima felt her very existence shudder. 'What was that! And you say we're in my mind? But there's nothing here! And what's with the "pitiful mortal" insult? Oh... you're my demon aren't you?'
'Listen kid... time is running out. Your body cannot take the damage that the blasted Cursed Seal is inflicting upon it. That quake was most likely your body trying to get that "foreign chakra" out of you chakra system. It won't last long; you are too weak. And yes... your mind is almost empty...'
'Hey!' yelled Akima. 'I'm sure there's something somewhere...' she trailed off as she looked around and found nothing in sight.
The demon chuckled, the almost-purrs rumbling as another quake shook the essences of Akima's mind. 'You still have much to learn, kid... and you could not fill up all this space even with several of your lifetimes. But more importantly, you need to save yourself, and my living space.'
'Yeah, surviving would be nice... And I guess my mind is pretty comfortable, then? Care to inform me of the way out?' replied Akima, crossing her arms.
This time the tremor that ripped through the darkness was much more severe and pain shot through Akima's entire body, causing her to let out a groan as she rubbed at her head.
'You can't get out... and since you are your mind at the moment, rubbing your head does nothing. That's just a natural reaction to the pain.' Akima stopped rubbing and let her arms drop to her sides. 'You are going to have to forfeit control of your body to me so that I can burn out the cursed chakra. And while I'm at it, I can get rid of that annoying snake-man who dares to wish for immortality too.' The demon ended with a low growl, once again vibrating the non-existent bones of Akima's mind's essence.
'Whoa, whoa... you've taken over my body before, why do you need to ask this time? I've felt your chakra!' Akima winced as another tremor shook the impossibly large cavern.
'No, before, you were still mostly in control. I have to admit that I had been very bored cooped up in this place and wanted a taste of the outside again... which is why I attacked your black-haired friend against your will.'
'Itachi? You tried to hurt Itachi!'
'Yes, yes, unfortunately for me, he knew just how to deal with us. Hey, quit asking me questions. Hurry up and give me control or you're going to lose this body!'
'How?' The sound of rushing liquid was filling up Akima's senses. A very familiar, overpowering scent flowed through the nothingness. 'Am I bleeding everywhere or something?'
'Just say it!'
'Um, I lend you my body, demon! ...Is that what you meant?'
'Good enough.'
'Hey, you need a name!'
'Why don't you think about that while you sit in here?'
'But...'
'No more questions.'
There was a flash of blazing orange and Akima was left by herself. 'This is going to be very boring.' Akima sighed. 'Let's see... what's a good name?'
In reality...
"Hey Akima... calm down..." Naruto held her shoulders down as she thrashed on the floor. Blood was leaking out of one of her ears in red rivulets and the cursed seal kept growing feverishly, a few blotches blazing red and receding or expanding at a time. Beside her, Sasuke lay, still unconscious.
On the other side of the room, Gaara still struggled with his demon as Killua lay nearby. The bloody scratches on his chest had caked over and coagulated, but he was still unconscious from Naruto's Harem no jutsu.
Kimimaro was still brain dead. He seemed to have gone into a state of shock that had temporarily paralyzed him.
Orochimaru was confident. There was nothing that Itachi could do if he ever wanted the Cursed Seal removed from either Sasuke or Akima. Of course, Orochimaru knew that he would never remove them anyway. Sasuke was a valuable heir, and Akima could turn out to be an even more powerful weapon than Kimimaro.
Itachi felt, for the first time in a long time, at a loss. Orochimaru still refused to meet his eyes, so the Mangekyou Sharingan was out. If he were to attack and kill him, then Akima and his foolish little brother would never be free from the cursed seal.
Luckily, the decision was not his to make. Gaara, having been ignored for quite some time, lost control.
Growling angrily, his eyes snapped open to reveal yellow pupils surrounded by the unnatural inky black where the whites belonged. With a roar of rage, he launched his only weapon at the nearest thing that stood on two legs, which happened to be the still-in-shock bone master.
Kimimaro snapped out of his trance and barely dodged the swiftly-moving sand claws to land behind Orochimaru and Kabuto.
"I believe that we're going to have three demons in this room at the same time. Should be interesting." Kabuto smirked as he transferred green chakra to his palms. "I suppose that we are to capture all of them alive?"
Orochimaru's eyes darted back and forth as he anticipated the upcoming battle. "As many as possible, preferably all, but with the great Uchiha prodigy here..." He grinned at the glaring red-eyed ninja. "At least one should be barely alive when we finish."
"Hai, Orochimaru-sama," replied Kimimaro, bones oozing forth from his arms and shoulders.
Naruto grimaced, trying to calm the ever-growing intensity of Akima's seizure-like movements. When her struggling suddenly stopped, he breathed a sigh of relief, believing that she had passed out completely. However, this relief was quickly replaced by a terrifying fear as her eyes slowly opened, revealing golden cat-like pupils.
"Off, kid." Akima's voice was deep and gravelly, her fingertips steaming as hard, sharp claws grew over her fingernails. Naruto jumped back in alarm, his face a mask of shock and worry. The teeth lengthened and sharpened themselves into fine points as an angry, deep throaty snarl escaped through the parting lips. She struggled to draw air into her lungs, but her body's systems were morphing too swiftly; her lungs were expanding as her heart grew more muscular to pump greater amounts of needed blood faster; the muscles in her arms and legs became flooded with adrenaline.
And on top of all that, the Cursed Seal decided that it was time to try and take over again. Black splotches drew themselves forth from the ugly purple-black bruise on her shoulder and crawled across her skin like some kind of horrible skin disease, releasing dark purple chakra into the surrounding orange demon chakra.
"Now, it looks like demon and Cursed chakra do mix together nicely," Orochimaru said, his eyes lighting up with the discovery.
Akima winced as her burning hot chakra and the deathly cold Cursed chakra hit each other with a sizzle, causing even more steam to rise. "They do not mix!" she growled, feeling an itch blaze on her shoulder as the Cursed and demon chakra fought each other for supremacy. Snarling furiously, she clawed at the Cursed Seal as if to rip it from her skin.
"Orange and purple are not colors that mix well, Orochimaru." Itachi said coldly, eyes flashing as they reflected the flickering chakra. "You're killing her. Release the seal." Dotted red eyes glared at the snake sennin severely. There was definitely a silent 'or else' added to the statement. Orochimaru picked up on it and laughed.
"If they won't mix, then she might as well die." The snake sennin sneered cruelly.
"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto yelled, barely bringing his master's attention to the red blur that had barreled through the area where Orochimaru had stood a split second before.
"Orochimaru!" The Kyubi container, Naruto, slammed a hole into the stone floor in fury. "You have gone much farther than enough!"
"I agree," replied Gaara, somehow still maintaining a cool composure even under the influence of the Shukaku. "Your time is up." Sand writhed beneath his feet in angry swirls as his yellow-on-black eyes stared with deep hatred.
"Let's test your strength." Kabuto smirked. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but I'd like to try my hand at the infamous Sabaku no Gaara and his sand. I've already fought you once, anyway."
"Scared, are you?" growled Naruto. "I'm glad you learned your lesson. But Gaara will kick your ass just the same. And I will deal with that white-haired bone bastard over there." Kimimaro ignored the insult and took out two arm bones, one to each hand, to use as swords. His face displayed no expression.
"By choosing to fight me, you have already lost." Kimimaro informed Naruto emotionlessly.
"Well, I would have preferred to kill the snake bastard for ever coming within 50 feet of Sasuke-teme... but I doubt the other Uchiha would have let me."
Itachi smirked and gave a slight nod. "Good choice, Naruto-kun."
"Fat chance, Itachi... that one is mine!" Akima threw herself forward and swiped her claws at Orochimaru, who slithered out of the way, skidding several feet back.
"Now, now, don't be foolish, little girl." Orochimaru hissed. He raised two fingers and focused his chakra at Akima. "Let me show you how insignificant you are compared to me."
The Cursed Seal flared and sizzled on her neck like a red hot iron, causing her to half scream, half roar in agony as control over her body ceased. A constant pounding on her head began, as if some evil little possessed mallets were hammering on her temples unmercifully. Each blow sent waves of pain through her skull that seemed to shudder the very foundations of her mind... which they were.
'Oi... what's happening out there!' shouted Akima from her space. The quakes had gotten much worse. Chunks of the non-existent ceiling were falling down, leaving blank whiteness above. When the black chunks hit the non-existent bottom, jagged white cracks like lightning spiked out in all directions. Akima "ran" over to expect one of the craters.
Looking down into it, she almost got tipped in when another crash shook the limitless cavern. 'A... black hole?'
The swirling vortex seemed much more immense than her mind. A fierce wind sucked with enormous force at the same time as the quakes hit her mind and Akima watched in horror as another few chunks of her memories blew away into the black hole.
'Ok... that's probably the Cursed Seal... and it's gradually eating my brain cells. Great. Let's not fall in.' Akima said to herself, crossing her arms and nodding confidently. Another pulse crashed into her mind and Akima felt the "floor" underneath her come loose, and then she was falling...
But at the last second she grabbed hold of the edge of the hole. 'Phew.' And then that too came loose.
'Shit,' thought Akima as she fell. Looking up, she saw the entire thing, a gigantic dark blob almost completely empty save for one corner which was cluttered and disorganized. She squinted and memories hit her like a slap in the face, swift and surprising.
It was very windy, and the day's last light was nearing its end as the sun was just barely above the line that separated the sky and the land. A sole tree, its dry leaves snapping off from their branch clusters in droves, stood crookedly over two people, a woman and a child. Their voices rose and fell in volume as the wind blew ferociously.
'Do you know what Aki means, Akima?'
'No, what does it mean?'
'It means autumn.'
'Why did you name me autumn, mommy?'
'Because autumn is the bringer of the death, honey.'
'Mommy! That's horrible!'
'No it's not. It's natural for things to die in the end, Akima. Death is the great balancer. No matter how good or evil you were during your lifespan, you will always die in the end. It's just that... sometimes people should face their death sooner than others. It's these people that you have to watch out for, Akima, and they are yours to take care of.'
'I don't understand, mommy...'
'Well, maybe later you will... right, Akima-chan?'
Akima shook her head roughly, trying to clear the disorganized remnants in her head.
'Yeah, yeah, I get it mom! What do you think I'm trying to do! ... Well, where am I now?' her voice echoed slightly. As opposed to the blankness of her mind, this area was riddled with large gaps in which thick purple smoke spiraled upwards from. The smell was sweet but suffocating, and made her feel like retching, but it was still intoxicating, inviting. Suddenly, Akima felt the unbearable urge to jump into one of the gaps.
'Now, why would I want to do that?' she asked herself, as her traitorous feet shuffled closer to the smoke. 'That doesn't make any sense. I mean, it's probably not a smart thing to do.' Nevertheless, her body disobeyed her commands and came closer.
'I don't want to,' she thought as she miserably bent closer to the smoke. 'I really don't want to.' Her feet paused. 'I'm not going in there. This is a trick.'
'Akima...Come here...' a voice called to her from within the hole.
'Well now I KNOW I don't want to go in!' she shouted. Her feet skidded closer, drawn inescapably towards the gap. 'Especially when it's YOU calling me!'
A hand reached out of the hole to grasp its edge, and then another, followed by the head and shoulders of a woman Akima had once known very well. 'Please, Akima-chan, come here! Mommy's lonely...'
'Sorry mom, but I really don't want to go where you are! Not yet! When I'm older, okay!' shouted Akima as she sat down in an attempt to foil her own feet.
'Akima-chan...'
Akima bit her hand, concentrating on the pain that exploded there.
'Akima-chan...' it did not sound at all like her mom speaking anymore. The voice had become deeper, coarser. Akima chanced a glance at her mother, who was swiftly changing into something else.
Her hand was throbbing painfully by the time it was ripped from her teeth by a will that was not her own. She held no more control over her body.
'Come to me...' Fearfully, she watched in horror as her once mother melted away into Orochimaru's pale face. Even the power to scream or turn her head away had been drained.
'Why not just give in Akima? I know what you want... the power to take care of yourself, right? Independence? You don't like being protected or being treated like a dead weight to carry...'
Akima growled and shot the best glare that she could into Orochimaru's snake eyes. 'That's true, but... I can do it myself!'
The snake sennin's expression soured as a frown twisted its way onto his features. 'Don't be unreasonable. I hate it when people force me to resort to a different kind of persuasion...'
'Bring... it... on...'
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed to slits. 'As you wish.'
Author's Notes: Before you guys start on how Akima's mom was a sadistic and murderous person that wanted her kid to kill people... let me remind you that she was a ninja (which was in the first chapter, so I'm pretty sure none of you remember) and that being a ninja basically meant being a paid murderer, so of course her ideals are not the same as those of society today.
If you're confused about the title (The Voices Only Talk to Me), it was my sad attempt at being funny... You know that bumper sticker that says 'You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me!'? Well, um... yeah. Lotsa mind-speak in here...
Review! Review review review! Please? Next chapter is most likely last one. Almost done... C'mon, help me for this last stretch...