AN: Had no time to write over vacation; Dad 'stole' my laptop to go and find estate sales we could go to. But I'm back now and will try and get more chs up. Still planning out the last phase of the exams in my head, almost done with ti. Had lots of promising ideas, let me tell you...Also look out sometime for a new Kakashi centric fic by me. Hopefully this one won't suck as much as my older entries.
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He deftly caught the fist that was coming his way, turning his right wrist over as Naruto's knuckles collided with his outstretched palm, causing the blonde to tip over and flip over onto his back, Sasuke launching a roundhouse kick with his back foot. Naruto was sent flying, his body rolling into the grass, staining his orange and blue clothing with patches of grass and dirt. Spitting out blood, his stomach aching from the sharp pain, the blonde rose to his feet somewhat shakily, his blue azure eyes determined as ever. Sasuke grinned inwardly; He didn't think that such a wimpy punch would take out their spirited comrade. C'mon loser...show me how well you can fight when no one is here to save you. The Uchiha thinks, watching as Naruto quickly pulls out a kunai and a few shuriken.
Launching the projectile stars at his target, Naruto quickly rushes in, waiting to see where Sasuke would dodge. The raven haired ninja swiftly rolls sideways to his left, shuriken just barely missing where he was a few seconds before, only to be met with a whirling kunai aimed for his head. Thinking quickly, Sasuke uses a shuriken from the ground next to him and holds it by the inverse of the pointed edges, hoping to catch the kunai's tip in the small hole. Extending his right leg, he hooks Naruto's left ankle, bringing the genin crashing to the ground, kunai falling out of his hands. Sasuke barely catches a hint of a smirk on Naruto's whiskered face before the air is filled with a cloud of smoke, causing Sasuke to curse as he figures out the ploy.
How in the hell did he make a clone so fast! Or maybe...that Naruto was a clone all along...Sasuke thinks, rising up from the ground and activating his one tomoe Sharingan. Even though its perception was hardly anything compared to the two tomoe, Sasuke knew it would be enough to figure out where the real Naruto was hiding. Besides, he didn't feel like wasting all of his chakra on a mock fight anyways. He back flipped a second later, the ground seeming to rise up beneath him, pieces of rubble and dust emerging from he'd just been. The blonde genin popped out a moment later, his body shooting out of the hole like a rocket, fist risen above his head for an uppercut. Not seeing the Uchiha thrashing in pain above him, Naruto blinked only to realize he wasn't hitting anything.
"Damn your Sharingan...I'm jealous. It can do all sorts of cool stuff...I only have clones..."
Naruto mumbled to himself, hopefully low enough so the Uchiha couldn't hear. Sasuke inwardly chuckled; he never knew Naruto would be jealous from the way he acted. It was true that the Sharingan had lots of interesting abilities, one of many reasons it was feared and coveted as a doujutsu. It also had a lot of drawbacks, one being that its more superior form caused blindness the more it was used. This was not even mentioning the price one had to pay to attain it; an Uchiha would have to kill their best friend, in cold blood, in exchange for the more evolved Sharingan. This was mostly rumor however, or so Sasuke had thought...as none of the other Uchiha had even speculated that such a level of Sharingan could be obtained, until Itachi killed his best friend Shisui. Even then, it was unsure whether the Mangekyou still existed; none of the Uchiha who knew Itachi, much less anyone in the village, had seen him with it active in order to know. None except Sasuke, that is...
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Sakura sighed, her eyelids getting heavier and heavier with every passing minute the two of her comrades fought. It was so tedious; why couldn't she be on an all girls team? For that matter, did they even make teams with two or kunoichi? She didn't know, and figured that it was probably was not possible, given the high rate of male births in the village. Not that she would say that getting stuck with Sasuke was boring...but it would probably be more fun to have at least another girl on her team, someone she could talk to and train with, as both of the boys were far beyond her level, with their high levels of physical energy. Watching their fight now, her emerald eyes having trouble keeping track of who was where in the dim light, she knew she'd be hard pressed to put up that much of a fight against either of them. Well, maybe Naruto if she used her genjutsu, but Sasuke on the other hand, was a different story...
Gently touching the tips of her fingers to her neck, Sakura found that the odd triangle shaped mark was still there, though not burning in pain as it had before. All she could remember about the last few hours was fuzzy; though sensations of burning pain on her neck when she tried to use chakra and aches near her chakra points were definitely the more prominent of her recollections. Also, she felt some of...ecstasy when that power was active, a sort of thrill that she had never felt before. She had felt powerful, maybe enough to take down Sasuke even! Memories of a pale face, with gaunt cheekbones and long black hair, assaulted her mind, the figure's amber snake-like eyes seeming to peer into her soul. A sharp throng of pain in her neck made her let out a small whimper, her sudden shout of pain unheard by both of her teammates besides the white pup that was lying by her feet.
His black eyes blinked open, a small yawn erupting out of his tiny mouth. Looking around, the tiny wolf sensed something was wrong. He padded up to Sakura, watching her grab and claw at her neck in obvious agony. Naruto and Sasuke were both still concentrating intensely on their fight, Naruto making clone after clone while Sasuke dispelled each one with either a series of quick taijutsu strikes or ninjutsu attacks. He growled, the sound coming from out of his tiny throat, his anger rising as he watched the fight go on, Sakura still quietly writhing in pain. The fur on his back bristling, he ran over to where the two were locked in combat, being careful to avoid the projectiles being flung by both of the two genin were locked in a clash of weapons, Naruto with his small tanto and Sasuke with a kunai, sparks flowing from each of their blades as the sound of screeching metal rang out from the forest. The white wolf calmly trotted over to in between the two combatants, both of them too intent on the other to notice the dog's presence.
Letting out a sharp cry he howled into the night, startling the two boys and causing them to look down for a second, their blades slipping by a fraction of an inch. Growling fiercely, his jowls pulled back to reveal a set of sharp and glistening white teeth, he barked wildly, his fur standing on end. Naruto put away his blade, storing it back into his weapons pouch, bending to one knee and looking down to face the pup at eye level. He stopped barking almost immediately, letting out a small whine of displeasure and turning his head toward the tree where Sakura was still holding her seal in pain. Sasuke swore, grumbling to himself and berating the both of them for being so stupid, the three of them quickly rushing back to their comrade's aid.
"I see...her chakra network is trying to restore itself, but something with the seal is trying to interfere..."
Sasuke commented, staring at Sakura with his Sharingan, his hand on her shoulder. The paths that had been blocked by Hinata's gentle fist attack a few hours ago had started to open up again, only the seal had started to reactivate due to presence of working chakra. It was slowly feeding off of the chakra that was trying to re-integrate with her blocked points and start them back up again. It was impeding the process and making it more painful than it had to be for Sakura. Naruto just sat there, an expression of worry and concern dotting his fair face.
"Goddamit! We can't do anything...can we?"
Sasuke shook his head, turning slightly towards the blonde, who was cradling his dog into his orange jacket.
"No...We don't have the power to counter something of this size. Hell, out of all of us, only Sakura knows something about sealing jutsu anyways. We can't fight the likes of a forbidden jutsu the way we are now...Damn it all..."
Naruto growled at Sasuke's statement, his anger rising at the thought of Orochimaru. That bastard is going to pay! Little by little, he's destroying everything that I worked hard to get; My friends, family, and he's probably plotting something else too...I'm gonna kick his ass even if it means I die in the process!
The blonde thinks, his eyes narrowing as his determination grows. He can feel his anger slowly cooling down, his hand that was previously shaped into a fist unclenching as he breathes deeply. Sasuke looks over at Naruto, his face narrowed as well, then turns back to Sakura his brow starting to sweat with agitation.
"He'll pay...and Itachi too."
The Uchiha mutters, his eyes slowly turning back into their dark onyx color, his chakra slowly draining his strength. He decides that he can't do much with his Sharingan; there's nothing more to examine. Sakura will just have to fight the pain on her own. Blinking, Sasuke looks up at the sky; his mind reeling as he sees that the sun is high up in the sky, where before it was just darkening with the deep blues and purples of the night. Naruto, obviously just noticing the strange phenomenon now, shouts out, his mouth agape and his eyes widened.
"What the hell! This...Wha-?"
The blonde stutters out, mimicking the thoughts of his other human companion. Genjutsu! Nah, we'd be able to feel their chakra if it was so...then what in the hell is it! They both think, each turning to look at the other. Sakura has calmed by now, her breathing now becoming somewhat more regular, though it is still penetrated by a whimper or moan of pain, as if she's having a nightmare. Carefully lifting her prone form onto his shoulders, Sasuke adjusts his weight accordingly so that her arms limply fall over his neck. Turning his head slightly to face Naruto, the blonde still shocked by the sudden appearance of the sun, he lets out a shrill whistle that causes the orange clad ninja to jump, his face looking agitated after he has calmed down.
"We don't have any time to waste. Let's get going, now!"
Sasuke comments, his face staring up at the sun which is already at its peak. Naruto nods, his face hard-set and narrowed; it's now or never for them to reach the tower, this is their last day. Sprinting through the trees, the two dash off into the inner parts of the forest, unsure of what they would find waiting for them when they finally got to the tower with the two scrolls in hand. That is, if they survived the trials ahead that would push them to their limits like never before.
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Something doesn't seem right...This seal isn't normal at all...
He thinks, watching as the dark purple light of the chakra that was just infused into his forehead begin to turn black and take shape. His two mismatched eyes narrowed as he saw that it was formed into the shape of two snakes, each the same size of its mirrored twin. Each had a tail that was wrapped around the other's neck, seeming to signify something important which he couldn't figure out, but Kakashi knew it wasn't a good omen. Well, it didn't bode anything good for him, at least, because the sneer Orochimaru had on his face after he had applied the seal a few minutes earlier told him it was a part of his mischievous plot. He felt the limited control he had over his body slowly going away, all he could do was sluggishly sink to the ground like a toy doll and watch through narrowed eyes as his silver bangs brushed his forehead, covering up most of the seal.
The dead Anbu would have liked to shiver, as he felt the snake shinobi's hand graze his bangs, but his movement was now out of his control. His whole body felt like it was locked up, his muscles so tight they felt like coiled springs, all except for his eyes which he was darting to and fro around his small box-like cell furiously, unsure of just what the hell was going on. Grinning his sickish vile smile, Orochimaru let his hand fall from the boy's face, Kabuto coming forward from somewhere in the darkness. Sneaky bastard...I swear he's harder to sense that that damned snake sometimes... Kakashi thinks, watching as the glasses wearing medic began to gather up his chakra. But Kakashi couldn't feel it in the medic's hands or arms, in fact, he couldn't feel any chakra at all. They blocked my sensing ability too, eh?
He realizes, watching as the medic's hands begin to glow a bright yellow from the amount of chakra he was gathering. Standing over him with a smirk on hi face, Kabuto grabbed him by the collar of his gray vest, his other hand swiping across his torso where the seal was located. Kakashi could feel the blood run down his stomach, the droplets running down the floor of his stone cell, but he had no strength or power to even yell out in pain. Placing his bloodied hand on the ninja's seal, Kabuto quickly applied a bit of chakra over the part that Orochimaru had tampered with, causing Kakashi to feel slightly ill from the foreign chakra entering his system.
"Release!"
All of a sudden, he saw the medic's hand loosen and looked down to see that it was going through his now transparent throat. Eh? So they got rid of that Temporal Displacemtn Seal keeping me solid, but not before they bound my movements. Clever...but how will they control my consciou—Shit..
Kakashi thinks, just now figuring out why they had stopped using their only method of control on him. They had found a new one. Hearing footsteps slowly approaching his cell door, Kakashi took his eyes away from Kabuto only to see a familiar silhouette peering in the small slot in his cell door. The steps slowed then, the creaking of the door sounding ominous to the ghostly Anbu. His eyes wincing shut as the echoing clang of the door brought a finality to their meeting, Kakashi could only gape at what, or rather who, he saw in front of him.
He only caught a glimpse before she moved into the shadows beside his tormentors, but he knew that something was definitely wrong. Her face was pale where dried blood wasn't crusted to it, her clothes still torn and dirtied, parts of her emancipated torso showing her thinning ribs and bony legs. What frightened him most however, was the look in her eyes. She was completely changed from how she was originally, her black eyes now glowing a deep red in the darkness of his cell. They were narrowed as she stared him down, her head turning only slightly to look at Orochimaru.
"This is the one you wish me to seal, Lord Orochimaru?"
Her voice monotone and dead as waited for her master to give a confirming nod, she stared him in the face with emotionless eyes as she walked slowly toward him, gathering spiritual energy in her palms. He could only sit there, dumbfounded at how they had broken her spirit and willpower, which had seemed so invincible he knew only Naruto and possibly himself were stronger in that regard. Bending down to his level, her eyes still sowing no signs of emotion, their deep red contrasting with his onyx and Sharingan red, he could only watch as she put her hand on his forehead, right where the seal was located. Kakashi's eyes widened as he noticed that she had nearly the same seal as him; though some aspects of it were changed, the two snake's heads biting each other's tails instead of being strangled around them from the neck. I see...so you are using her to implement your mind control trick on me...Fucking bastards...Hopefully her plan will work, if the seals still hold...
Kakashi thinks, waiting for the intrusion of spiritual energy into his forehead. But she was only kneeling there, her left hand holding onto her forehead as if she was in pain. Her eyes briefly changed back to their original onyx color, her other hand moving away from his forehead to grip tightly onto his shoulder as the miko's head fell forward, her long black hair seeming to mesh with his own silver spikes. Even though they were only a few inches away from each other, every halting breath she took blowing aside his sideburns and tickling his right ear, her sentence was so broken and the words so halting that he didn't understand it at first.
I'm...sorry...If only...my will w-wwas...stronger...I have...failed...Please forgive m-me for...what I am a-about...to do...shinobi...d-dono...
She blinked, her eyes turning once more to their bright red hue. Orochimaru and Kabuto only narrowed their eyes at the intrusion of free will; she had slowly been succumbing more and more to the seal over time, they had thought her will completely overtaken by their own. It seems they were only partially right, however, as this little exercise had shown. No matter...it was only for a second...Now that her will is completely taken over, dominating Kakashi should be simple with her powers at my disposal... I look forward to seeing you again, Sarutobi-sensei and I bet you will be looking forward to meeting your old teachers again, from beyond the grave! Orochimaru thinks, his yellow snake-like eyes never taking their gaze off of the miko and Kakashi.
Kakashi felt his eyes cross as she forcefully pushed her left hand against his forehead again, the pain was nothing compared to the look of anger and despair she had given him before the mind control had taken over once again though. He fought to stay steady as her spiritual energy flowed into him, powering up the seal and making his consciousness fade. It felt like only a few seconds before almost everything was black, the Anbu feeling like a stranger inside his own body. He could only watch, his mind screaming frantically at his body to not move as he rose to his feet without realizing it. He felt his body be pulled forward by Orochimaru, the snake shinobi's pale hand resting on his shoulder, as he was led out of his dingy and horrid cell.
"Good, my loyal pet. Now...it's time to give you a body that fits your true capabilities...Kabuto, get my laboratory chamber ready."
"Of course, my Lord."
Kabuto nodded, his body quickly disappearing in a whirl of smoke. Orochimaru only grinned, his hand rubbing together as he thought of the new tests he could perform on his new subject.
