Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, favoriting, and following - and especially to the reviewers! You guys are awesome and make me want to obsess even more over writing this and making it good :P
Rating is now officially M, ya'll. Nothing truly explicit yet, but the forecast calls for heavier, more mature themes starting in this chapter, with a slight chance of citrus eventually…;P
Chapter 22: The Memory Pulling Jutsu
Kaiya paced on the shore, arms folded, brow furrowed. This was to be her sixth and last trip across, and Nobu was late. He'd never been late to escort her across the Uzumaki Strait. The weather was clear, the tide seemed pretty normal to her…where was he?
After almost two hours of waiting, Kaiya gave up. Going to her Flying Thunder God marker, she teleported across, arriving on the cliff where she'd surveyed the area three months prior. She crouched and peered down at the small town, undecided: Should she maintain her cover, visiting the town to pick up supplies so the villagers wouldn't think she'd just disappeared into thin air? Or should she just use the trail of Thunder God markers she'd planted on her way out for a quick trip home? A trip into town could tell her what happened to her ferryman, but then she might have to explain how she'd gotten across on her own…
"Akane-san!" Kaiya nearly jumped, twisting to see Nobu sauntering toward her.
"Ah, Nobu-san," she greeted, standing and brushing herself off. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to."
"I was wondering the same," he replied. "I went to the island but you'd already gone, Akane-san."
Crap…"Oh, I…saw another fisherman off the northern coast," she offered, hoping her voice still sounded natural. "I was ready to go anyway, and he offered a ride…I'm sorry you went out all that way."
Inwardly, Kaiya tensed even as she spoke. Something was off, and it set her mental gears whirring. He always uses the same docking area. Two hours without showing, and now he says he was there? And I didn't see him the whole time? Even if he'd come after I teleported, that's not nearly enough time to get back across...
Nobu seemed surprised by her answer, as well. "That is odd," he began. Kaiya thought his voice sounded a bit strange as well - too formal, too educated. "But I guess it doesn't really matter so much, Kaiya-san…"
Kaiya fought to keep her face neutral. The inflection is wrong, too - Wait, did he just say-
She crouched into a defensive stance, pulling the knife from her boot. "Who are you?" she demanded, eyes narrowing.
'Nobu' smirked. "I suppose there's no point in keeping this up." With a 'poof,' Kabuto stood in Nobu's place.
Transformation jutsu…"What did you do to Nobu?" she growled.
Kabuto sauntered toward her, but stopped abruptly when she made to pounce. He held his hands out. "I'm not here to fight you, Kaiya-san." Sunlight glinted off his glasses. "I'm just a messenger today. I have a proposal for you from Orochimaru-sama."
She scoffed, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Right, because you know how much I'd love to cooperate with that snake!"
"Don't you want to see Sasuke-kun again?"
She froze. What is he talking about? Please, don't tell me…
Seeing her hesitate, Kabuto placed a mask of sympathy on his features. "You haven't heard, then…I guess you must have left before it happened. Well, Sasuke-kun decided his best interests are with Orochimaru-sama. That's right - he's left Konoha for good."
He smirked again when Kaiya's eyes widened in shock. This should be easy….she's always had a strong maternal instinct. She'll want to know that Sasuke is all right. "I have to admit, though - the little brat hasn't been the most cooperative since his arrival," he lied. "And Orochimaru-sama is very strict, even with his favorite vessels…" He paused to let Kaiya's imagination fill in the rest.
He's baiting me, Kaiya registered. Nice try, bastard. "What do you want, Kabuto?"
"To help you," he replied, arms widening at his sides. "I'm sure there are many things you wish to know about your past - things Konoha has purposely kept from you…to be honest, I probably know more about you than you do!"
"Really? I seriously doubt it." She kept her eyes trained on his form, her mind sifting through possible escapes. I could just teleport out of here, but not back to island. I'd be trapped. The trail to Konoha - did I put the next marker within range?
He smirked. "I told you, Kaiya-san…I've watched you for a long time - since we were children at the orphanage, in fact."
Kaiya's brow furrowed. "You…?" Her curiosity kept her planted. Didn't he mention that before, too?
"You might not recall," he continued. "You had some memory issues back then. Actually, it's what made us bond - I, too, had hurt my head and lost my memory." He grinned. "You were so cute back then."
She glared. "So?"
"So, you once told me yourself back then: we orphans should stick together. We'd make a great team, Kaiya-san - your speed, your talent with seals…you're easily as smart as me. And I can teach you to control others' chakra - even help you with your genjutsu."
"Please, spare me -"
His expression turned dark. "You owe me, you know. I protected you from a harsher life than you could imagine! You were wanted for a dangerous organization in Konoha - I volunteered in your place."
Kaiya narrowed her eyes. "What organization?" Is he lying? Trying to bait me again?
He smiled. "Come with me, and I'll tell you…not only that, but I'm sure Orochimaru-sama would happily tell you about your parents." She froze. He had an opening. "Yes, he knows who they were. You could learn so much, dear Kaiya-san. Your heritage, the true extent of your abilities…and so many other secrets Konoha has kept over the years."
She clicked her tongue. "Tch…It's fine to suggest you know such things. How do I know you'd actually deliver?"
He smirked again. Now for the clincher… "What would you like to know about…your Uzumaki heritage?"
Her eyes widened. She considered him for a moment, lowering her knife. "And all I have to do is come with you?"
"And keep an open mind."
Kaiya was very still. "Okay."
Kabuto blinked. He hadn't expected it to be this easy. "Okay?"
Kaiya nodded. "Okay. I'll come with you."
He stalked toward her. She's playing at something…"You must understand, I can't simply lead you to a hideout."
She stayed where she was. That's it, you come to me…"I understand. So what is it? Blindfold? Body-bind seal?"
"Body-bind will do," Kabuto answered, slowing his steps. "Or it would, if you actually intended to come with me willingly." He launched at her, hands glowing.
Kaiya flickered behind him. She aimed a blow with the knife at his lower back, but her hand came in contact with a log instead. Now he was behind her, slashing at her legs. Poof! Shadow-clone - he'd fallen for it again. A safe distance away, Kaiya pulled out the kunai scroll and released the chakra-conducive blades. Now was not the time to be pulling punches.
A whistle to his left - clearly, she had some kunai hidden in her civilian clothes. He dodged it, glad he did - the kunai was imbued with wind chakra and would have cut straight through him if he'd blocked. She is deadly accurate with those things, too - I need to get out of her line of sight, draw her into close combat…He reached into his pack, dodging another kunai she'd launched from a different direction.
Kaiya tossed another kunai, this one normal, which was blocked. She watched as he used an Earth Release to tunnel into the ground. She quickly jumped up into a tree, just in time to avoid his hand reaching for her from beneath her feet.
One more well-aimed kunai and he was down. Kaiya paused before leaving her tree. There was no "poof," no melting or disintegrating…it wasn't a clone. I should just get out of here…She crept down from the tree. The knife was embedded in the back of his neck; she'd hit his spinal cord, a fatal blow.
Something was off, something that made her need to check his body, and she couldn't put her finger on it. She crouched next to the body and examined the entry point - it was skin, and…cold already? With a start, she realized what was bothering her: There was no blood leaking from the entry wound. Where was the blood?
Corpse decoy.
Kaiya swore at her folly just as a hand grabbed her ankle from the ground. Kabuto crashed up through the soil and slashed at her leg, landing several blows that tore her muscles and forced her to fall back against him. He jammed a syringe into her neck.
"You…bastard…" she growled as blackness overtook her vision.
When she awoke, Kaiya found herself bound and sitting up on the ground. From the soft soil beneath her, and the damp smell of leaf rot and moss, they were in an earthy cave further inland. The light was dim and mostly provided by a candle - it was dark outside. Kabuto was sitting in front of her, watching her over folded hands.
He smiled at her when he saw her rouse. "Welcome back, my dear Kaiya-san. I thought we could have a nice chat, just the two of us, before I brought you to Orochimaru-sama."
Kaiya growled and fought against her restraints. Her hands were bound at her sides, far enough apart that they couldn't come together to form signs. The ropes were tight - and as she struggled, she started to feel light-headed. She froze in realization.
Kabuto leaned back. "Thought you'd appreciate those. The ropes drain chakra - the harder you fight, the more they take. Even your impressive reserves wouldn't last long."
She glared but relaxed her limbs. Her head stopped swimming. "What the hell do you want, Kabuto?"
"Me? I told you - I want to help you." The candlelight glinted on his glasses, hiding his eyes. "I know how much you desire your memories from before the orphanage. I can help you get them back." He leaned forward and reached a hand to her cheek, thumb tracing her lips. "And of course, there are some other things I need to learn for Orochimaru-sama. Things I rather doubt you'd be forthcoming about."
He barely yanked his hand back in time when her teeth snapped at his fingers. He met her glare calmly with a blank look of his own. Then he backhanded her with enough force to snap her head to the side. He grabbed her jaw roughly and turned her back to face him.
"Now listen," Kabuto growled low, his face barely two inches from hers. His fingers gripped her jaw hard enough to bruise. "I spent years gathering intel for Anbu. I am well-trained in how to break people in order to get information. Some methods are…gentler than others, and I would greatly prefer to use them. But I have no qualms about using the harsher ones with you either, dear Kaiya-san, ones that are meant particularly for stubborn kunoichi." To emphasize his point, his other hand found her breast and squeezed hard. She snarled.
He shoved her back against the rocky wall. While she was still off-balance, he formed five hand signs. "No point in waiting - it's time for round one…Jigyaku no Jutsu!"
Kaiya's vision grew foggy. Her head felt odd - like it was a slowly churning sea, and her mind was just drifting in the whirlpool. She heard Kabuto's voice through the waters, calm and inviting.
"Now, dear Kaiya-san…let's talk about your time in Uzushiogakure."
His voice was so clear through the fog, like a hand reaching out for her…she wanted to take that hand and be guided back to shore. "Hai…"
Kabuto smiled, seeing her eyes lose focus. There was some resistance, but her chakra was coming in tune with his. If he played his cards right, he could draw her in and learn anything he wanted. "You found the hidden archives, didn't you?"
"Hai…it required…Uzumaki blood…"
"Which you had?"
"Yes. I…have the blood myself…" Dimly, somewhere far off, a voice was calling out to her: Don't…But she couldn't make out the rest. And the drifting was so pleasant…
Kabuto smiled again - he'd been right about his suspicion, then. "Let's go into the archives of Uzushio then, shall we? What did you find inside?"
Don't say any -
She told him of the collapsed buildings and the underground library. He directed her attention to the scrolls she uncovered. "Was there anything about a particular seal that binds souls?" He'd have to tread carefully on this line - anything too direct and she might snap alert.
"There were a few…" He started to smile. "But I can't open them…" His face fell. Well, this isn't good - she doesn't have the information yet. But maybe there are other things she does have…
He tried a different line of questioning. "That's a shame, Kaiya-san. But I'm sure you found other things of interest."
I…can't…Her eyebrows rose. "Oh, yes…the Jinchuriki…"
"What about them?"
"The Uzumaki - they kept so much research on how to create a stable seal for a vessel." Her voice had more clarity. It's such a fascinating topic, the small voice conceded. "Uzumaki Mito was the first to succeed…she held the Kyuubi…then passed it to another when she was too old. But something must have happened to the second one…the Kyuubi attacked again…"
"Yes," Kabuto coaxed. "The Kyuubi attacked Konoha." Curiosity pulled at him. Might as well follow this line, she's already on her way down there… "Were you there? When the Kyuubi attacked?"
I was… Her eyes widened. "Yes…"
"With your parents?" Might get some leverage here.
A flash - black hair and eyes, and a baby in a sling…
"No…I was with…Itachi. He was holding Sasuke, his parents had gone somewhere…"
Kabuto's eyes narrowed. "Why would you have been with him? Why not your family?"
"Kaiya-chan, it's time to go!" a man's voice, warm and clear, called out.
"I…didn't want to go until they told me I'd be with him. I wanted to be with my mom and dad when my baby brother arrived…they wouldn't let me. But I was okay with staying with Itachi…"
Baby brother? "Why wouldn't they let you stay with your parents?"
She was trailing behind someone…A woman, belly swollen, smiled lovingly back at her…her hair was so red, like Kaiya's own…
"Something about Okaa-san - she was…different, and they wouldn't be in a hospital for the birth…they needed a special place…I overheard them talking one night, they didn't know I was still up…something about a seal…"
Could it be? Kabuto thought, glancing down in thought. Was her mother the second Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?
"Naruto…"
Kabuto snapped his attention back to Kaiya's face. Her eyes were wide. "What about him?"
On the couch, a blond-haired man held a book. Kaiya peeked around the woman's long curtain of red hair; the blond man on the couch was talking with another, older man - he looked familiar...
"Naruto…it's a beautiful name."
"My baby brother…they were going to name him…Naruto…"
Kabuto's eyes widened, then his face relaxed into a sly smile. So that's the big secret.
"Kaiya-san," he placed a hand on her cheek, bringing her focus back to him. "What else do you remember about that night?"
"Itachi -" Kabuto's fingers twitched. The way she said that name put a foul taste in his mouth. "He was worried. His parents had left, didn't say why. There was so much noise, so much shaking -"
She was scared. "What's happening?"
"Come on - we have to get to a safehouse!"
Kaiya's breath grew quick and shallow as the memories took over. "We ran. We had to get to a safehouse. There was no one around to protect us, we had to run. The buildings are falling -" Her eyes widened further, and she gasped, looking up.
A horrible whine of metal…stone fell from the sky - no, from a building - Itachi hadn't seen it yet -
"ITACHI! LOOK OUT -" she tried to lunge forward at an invisible scene. The ropes held her tight, but Kabuto had to push against her shoulders to keep her from propelling forward.
She had to get to Itachi and Sasuke - get them out of the way -
She hyperventilated, panic twisting her features. "NO! LET ME GO! I have to -" She kept fighting him, trying to live out the rest of the memory.
I'm not getting any further with her in this state, Kabuto realized as he held her back. Time to end this. He quickly formed a hand sign. "Release!"
Kaiya's eyes cleared as she emerged the foggy currents, gasping for air. As her breathing slowed, she turned and looked at Kabuto. Her face was livid. "What the hell did you do?!" she growled.
Kabuto smirked, covering his relief that she hadn't caused too much damage to herself - or him. "Just jogged your memory a bit." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "It looks like you have quite a lot to think about now. I'll be back when you've cooled off."
As he stood, he stared down at her. She was flushed, eyes wild, chest still heaving from the intensity of the memory pull, beads of sweat making her skin shine. He had to admit: the sight was quite…arousing. "I won't be away long, dear Kaiya-san…we have quite a lot to discuss."
When he left the cave, his face fell into a dark frown. She's still so focused on that Uchiha brat! But now…she's had a taste of her own past. She'll want more.
Gaaaaah we're getting so close to the big reveal (for Kaiya, anyway)! Not exactly the way she'd have wanted to learn it, though…And Kabuto seems to have quite an obsession going on! Will anyone come to her rescue? Will she get herself out of this? Or will Kabuto take her to Orochimaru? Stay tuned!