Chapter/Episode 37

A Black Dragon's Agony

A sinister smile spread across Orochimaru's face, "Show me your power!"

Kyoko also put a sinister smile on her face as she stood there and then disappeared in an instant.

Orochimaru frowned and turned around too late, as Kyoko stood behind him with the malicious grin still on her face. With a swipe of her clawed hand, she made Orochimaru slam into the Konoha wall. It all happened so quickly, the others could barely grasp what had happened.

As the smoke cleared, Orochimaru stood up from the crater that had been created when he hit the wall. He looked up and noticed Kyoko in front of him. She grabbed a hold of his hair and through him into the air appearing before him as he tried to counter attack.

A flurry of fast paced punches bombarded Orochimaru's abdomen as Kyoko punched him higher up into the air.

"WH-What incredible speed," Kakashi stuttered as he watched with his Sharingan eye uncovered. "I can barely follow her movements."

Even Sasuke had a look of frustration as he had trouble identifying her movements with his Sharingan as well.

Kyoko suddenly vanished before everyone's eyes and appeared above Orochimaru. She threw her foot down, and with a mighty kick, sent Orochimaru into the ground.

"Orochimaru," Kabuto yelled in alarm. He ran to aid him while Kyoko flew above him, but she stopped him. Kyoko flew downwards and with a swift punch to the gut, Kabuto was sent flying. Both snake men were slowly getting up off of the ground and coughing up blood.

"Manda II," Kabuto yelled as the giant snake burst up through the ground once more chasing Kyoko high up into the air as she flew upwards with the giant snake's face following behind her. Finally, the snake could not go any higher and Kyoko flew, black dragon wings flapping as she looked down on it.

Activating her Sharingan, she looked down on it and noticed Kakashi preparing the seals for chidori and attacking Orochimaru, who dodged it easily, moving to where Kabuto was, which was on the other side of Manda II.

Repeating what Kakashi had done, Kyoko used Chidori and looked back down on the snake that seemed to dare her to get closer.

The Chidori, however, was black in colour and matched her black skin.

She flew downwards at the snake and it also reached up toward her, with its mouth open. Bringing the Chidori in her right hand down at it, the snake split in half as she went all the way down its body. When she reached the ground, both sides of the snake hit the ground on either side of her and dissolved away.

Orochimaru gritted his teeth in frustration as Kyoko stood there staring at him with red eyes, Chidori still in hand before it fizzled out.

"You remind me of Sasuke," Orochimaru reflected. "So much hate. The only difference is that your hate was buried so deep down inside you, it grew to an enormous amount."

"Kyoko," Sasuke ordered. "Enough. Orochimaru is mine. Back off."

He moved in front of Kyoko and Orochimaru grinned. He had an evil trick up his sleeve.

"My, My, Sasuke," he said shaking his head. "Is this why Kyoko knows such pathetic jutsu? You wanted to kill me, so you purposely made her weak so you could have your revenge?"

Kyoko gritted her teeth. She saw truth in his words. "It always has to be about you, huh, Sasuke," she asked.

"Don't listen to him," he told her.

"That's rude Sasuke," Orochimaru taunted. "Do you think she's weak? Pathetic? Incapable of fighting for herself?"

Sasuke turned around to face Kyoko. "Don't listen to hi-," he started but was cut off by Kyoko's changing face.

She gritted her teeth as new anger spread across her face as she realized Sasuke did think of her like that, he said it all the time.

"Do NOT order me around," she replied icily. "All you do is say those things. Why do you waste your time on me if I'm so pathetic…sensei?"

"Calm down," he told her but she wasn't listening. He took a step back from her.

Kyoko took a step forward. "What do you think of me now sensei," she taunted. "Am I stronger now? Am I still pathetic?"

"Move Sasuke," Kakashi yelled at him.

However it was too late. Kyoko stuck him aside with a clawed hand, as she had done before with Orochimaru.

He hit the wall, making a similar crater of his own. When the smoke cleared he was standing up, one eye closed as he winced from pain. Kyoko ran toward him and his eyes widened as she was got closer in seconds, with Chidori in hand.

"Sasuke," Naruto yelled at him in alarm.

Just as she was about to strike him, a force caused her to go flying backwards. Using the ground as leverage, she back flipped to face the force that caused her to move backwards.

It was Itachi. He had heard the commotion and hurried to Sasuke's aid.

Kyoko growled, "You stupid Uchiha. All you do is keep crawling out from under the woodwork…and you all think you're so great."

She moved toward them but was subsequently stopped. "Wood Style: Four Pillar Prison Jutsu," Yamato called out as the wood prison surrounded Kyoko causing her to grit her teeth in frustration as the walls sealed her up.

All eyes returned to Orochimaru. "I never thought you would turn on one of your own," Orochimaru replied loudly enough for Kyoko to hear.

With that a side of the prison blew up and Kyoko flew out angrier than ever, "I am so sick of this I will destroy everyone and everything in this stupid village and then go with Victorique and live peacefully where I can finally be happy!"

She flew toward the village, but was stopped by a giant slug and a giant toad that blocked the way. "I'm afraid as Hokage I can't let you do that," Lady Tsunade called out to Kyoko as Kyoko flew at level with where Lady Tsunade and Jiraya stood on their respecting creatures.

"Move," Kyoko yelled as she flew toward them with a Chidori, however she was stopped when Jiraya used a fire ball.

"Why would you want to destroy everyone," Naruto yelled.

"To eliminate pain in this world," Kyoko yelled at him. "Every time I turn around someone is crying, someone is dying or someone is suffering. I hate it all. I hate everything! The only good thing that can ever come from this world is love and friendships and people are personally destroying those. They're destroying the only good in this world!"

Sasuke breathed in sharply and his eyes widened as she said this.

"Everyone will either die or be dragged into darkness," Kyoko continued. "Or even worse…both."

A black dragon like tail protruded from Kyoko and then a second. Naruto's eyes widened. "Don't listen to the tailed beast within you," he yelled up at her, causing everyone to look at him with surprise. "It's wrong. You won't gain any happiness by destroying everyone!"

"N-Naruto," Sakura asked him. "What are you talking about?"

"So this is what happens when a Jinchuriki comes together with a cursed seal…," Orochimaru concluded. "The seal and the beast merge when the seal is activated. When the seal is activated it awakes the tailed beast, giving the seal a more powerful form…and giving the one-tailed form a more…'solid' state."

"What," Sakura exclaimed looking back up at Kyoko.

"Well this has been interesting," Orochimaru continued. "But I must leave you now. I don't want to be here when everything is destroyed by my new vessel."

"No," Naruto yelled at them, but it was too late. They vanished and fled.

"I will kill off everything here," Kyoko growled again. This time she made it passed the toad and the slug and flew further into the village.

"Wait," Naruto called out to her.

Jiraya and Lady Tsunade moved out of the way to let everyone pass and then followed the others after Gumbata and Katsuyu disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wait," Naruto tried again to the rapidly disappearing figure in front of them, but Kyoko never responded.

Everyone in the village had disappeared inside their homes earlier after hearing the commotion at the gates and getting word that Orochimaru was in the village. Instead, a group of ninja stood in Kyoko's way as they prepared to fight anything that came further into the village.

"Something's coming," Karin reported to the other ninja. "A-And it has a very dark chakra energy."

"Is it Orochimaru," Shikamaru asked.

"No," Karin concluded.

"Alright," Shikamaru nodded and then turned to the other ninja. "Get ready!"

Kyoko blew by them in a flash and they all turned around. "WH-What was that," Shikamaru replied astonished.

"I'm not sure," Ino replied.

"Hey," Naruto yelled at them. "Move!"

The group of ninja parted as Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, Sasuke, Itachi, Sakura and Jiraya and Lady Tsunade rushed by them.

"What's going on," Choji exclaimed, but gout no answer.

Kyoko finally reached the main part of the village when Yamato used a Wood Style Jutsu to wrap around her. Turning she saw Yamato and Sai on a bird that Sai had drawn. She struggled to move as the wood tightened and wrapped around her and prevented her from flying. Yamato started bringing her toward them when her wings broke through the wood that was binding her.

Kyoko faced them and was about to do something when a voice called out from her left, "Kyo?"

Kyoko looked down and saw Victorique standing there, fear spread across her face. "Victorique," Kyoko acknowledged. She flew toward her and landed on the ground taking a step forward, but Victorique took a step back, her eyes wide.

"What's wrong…," Kyoko asked but was interrupted by Yamato.

"Move out of there," he called out to Victorique.

Victorique didn't hesitate and moved toward the other ninja who had arrived.

Kyoko turned to look at them when something caught her eye. She turned back toward where Victorique had been standing and saw something horrible in the reflection of the store window. She took a step back and gasped in surprise at what was staring back at her with the same look of surprise.

It was a creature with short, black hair that spiked backwards and also had glowing red eyes. Its skin was black with a scale like pattern and had sharp teeth and hands like claws. Two black, dragon-like wings protruded from either side of its body.

Kyoko stared in horror at it. It was truly something from her nightmares. Bringing her hand up to her mouth to cover it, she noticed that her hand was claw-like and black with a scale like pattern, like the creature in the store window. She looked back up at what she now realized was her own reflection.

Things went quiet as Kyoko took another step back. "That's…me," she asked with a squeak. Tears formed at her eyes. What had she become?

"I'm not like that…that monster," Kyoko thought to herself. "Or…am I?"

She thought back to the terrible things she had said and her tears rolled down her cheeks. She hung her head and her arms hung at her sides as her tears dripped to the ground. "I'm such an idiot," she whispered and then looked back up at her reflection. Her frightening features had begun to disappear and the cursed seal marks had begun to recede.

She faced Naruto and the others and Sai and Yamato, who were still flying in the air. "I-I'm so sorry she whispered.

She tried wiping away her tears with her arm but it didn't work as more seemed to fall down her face.

She looked back up. "I'm so sorry," she yelled with her eyes squeezed shut. She turned ran away down the street with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't get Victorique's frightened face out of her mind.

"Wait," Naruto yelled, reaching his hand out toward her, but Kakashi stopped him.

"Don't," he warned. "She needs some time alone.

"What she needs is someone beside her to comfort her," Naruto faced his sensei. "She's scared and frightened and doesn't need any more time alone!"

He created several shadow clones and went off in several directions to look for her.

"Naruto…," Sakura trailed off when she noticed Sasuke tense up beside her. His arms were at his sides and his hands were clenched. His face was obscured by his hair as he looked at the ground. "…Sasuke?"

Suddenly Sasuke vanished. "Huh," Sakura exclaimed. "Where is he going?"

Everyone turned to face her. "Where did who go," Kakashi asked, and then noticed Sasuke's disappearance.

"Sasuke," Sakura explained. "He just left…you don't think he went after Orochimaru…do you?"

Lady Tsunade turned serious but Itachi interrupted, "I don't think we'll have to worry about him."

"Oh," Lady Tsunade questioned, but Itachi just turned away from her and a small grin spread across his face.

-Somewhere else, in a Dark Alley-

Kyoko grabbed at her hair as she sat at the end of the ally way. She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her and her head buried in her knees as she sobbed.

"I hate Orochimaru," she thought. "I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I can't believe I almost destroyed the village and killed everyone…I can't believe I became that monster."

Her muffled crying got even worse at the thought of the awful monster thing she had turned into.

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming toward her down the alley. She quickly stood up and wiped away her tears with her arm at the same time.

When she could finally see through her blurred eyesight, she saw Sasuke standing in front of her.

She let out a small gasp and took a small step back. "Sasuke…," she trailed off.

"What is he going to do," she thought, alarmed. "Call me an idiot for falling for Orochimaru's tricks? Hit me for not telling him about the seal? Beat me up for beating him up? Say that-."

Sasuke, in fact, didn't do any of those things. Instead Kyoko felt him wrap her up in a tight hug. She breathed in sharply, her eyes widened and she stopped crying momentarily.

Her chin was resting on his right shoulder and her arms were hanging down on either side of her body and she just stood there for a moment too shocked to do anything, even cry.

"Naruto said you shouldn't be alone after that," he told her in her ear. "I can believe more than anyone that that is true. I had the seal once too."

She stood there, not able to make sense of his words, but oddly glad that she wasn't alone any more, even though she was the one who ran away from them. She buried her face into his shoulder as tears and sadness started to well up in her.

She stood there with Sasuke for a long time as she cried into his shoulder, her muffled sobs echoing out into the night.