Sakura's hands shook with exertion, but she brought them together again. One slow exhale steadied her, focused her chakra where she needed it.
"Sly Mind Affect!"
Her target, one of the squirrels she had seduced with chestnuts, began to climb up the tree. Sakura watched it from the ground. It had to work this time. Kakashi had called her a Genjutsu-specialist to be. Kurenai had trained and praised her. Sasuke couldn't perform the illusion they had made during the bell-test.
(Kakashi had interrogated them at some point on how they managed to create a new Genjutsu. Sakura didn't know it had been new. Sasuke didn't know but he claimed it to be an Uchiha jutsu. It wasn't.)
The point was that Sakura had the skills to pull off a C-level jutsu.
The squirrel reached the crown of the tree. It paused and then turned around to begin walking down again. A tendril of hope wormed its way in Sakura's chest. She didn't dare to lower her hands, but she allowed her shoulders to sag.
Surrounding her feet lay her books and scrolls. Homework for her apprenticeship, which consisted mainly of translating notes into a report about the patient, studies on chakra and jutsu. Light reading as usual.
The squirrel turned around again on the bottom and Sakura cheered. In the middle of her pirouette, she noticed Shinji standing behind her.
"What the-!"
Sakura slipped and fell down. Shinji's face appeared above her head. "Can you teach me that?"
"Shinji!" Sakura shot to her feet, almost knocking the other girl over. "How long were you standing there?"
Shinji shrugged, "Long enough to understand why Team 7 is banned from taking missions related to animals."
Kakashi had ruined them.
Sakura stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms to keep her fingers warm. The training field she stood on had no shields against the cold wind nor did it have a particularly sunny spot. Needless to say, no one really wanted to come here unless they had no other options. It was a large, round field of grass surrounded by fences, rock, and the lonely path that led to this place.
Shinji made her way to Sakura's thermos-flask. She threw another one down, along with a packet of cookies and a blanket, all swiftly summoned from her bracelet. She sat down in a cocoon of her blanket and looked up expectantly.
"Wanna train together?"
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Don't you have the whole ANBU to train you?"
"Nah, they're busy protecting the village and gossiping." Shinji peered at the documents curiously. Her eyes fell on the brick-sized book with the symbol for Water-nature on it.
"You're water too?"
Startled, Sakura came closer, crouching down carefully. "Yeah, you too? That's funny."
"We should definitely train together!" Shinji's eyes sparkled.
Sakura shifted away from her. Shinji had passed 'Excitement' a while ago, now she looked manic. Working in T&I couldn't be that exciting yet Shinji's eyes were bright and she clapped her hands as if she had discovered something new and amazing.
Sakura frowned at her and then noticed. The little details, the ones nurses assured she would soon spot right away. Sakura saw them now that the clouds had shifted a bit and more light fell on them.
Shinji was exhausted. Dark bags under her eyes and chapped lips as if she had completely forgotten her tedious skincare routine from the Academy. The scar stood out against her pale skin, drawing more attention to it even if it had healed. Her cheeks looked hollow and dry.
"It's a bit cold for water-canons..." Sakura murmured, averting her eyes. She tried to stop her shivers. Her wound stung at every little movement.
Shinji gave her a second glance, "Are you injured?"
Sakura froze. Shinji leaned closer. "You're moving so stiff... What happened?"
"Oh," Sakura smiled, "don't worry. Just a little sore from training."
Shinji didn't buy it. Her eyebrow went up and her mouth opened. In a reflex, Sakura spoke,
"What are you doing here?"
Instantly, Shinji looked guilty. Her eyes wandered around, not stopping at any moment. She scratched her head, "Euh, I've been- Ah, just doing stuff..."
"Shinji."
"I'm avoiding Ibiki-sensei!" she blurted and flushed. Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled her sleeves over her hands.
"Again?"
Shinji's cheeks were pink, and she pouted, "I have a good reason."
"Did you set fire to his coat again?" Sakura frowned.
That had been an interesting day. Chi showed up to the group dinner somewhat disheveled with Ryuya on her back. Neither girl spoke a word about what had happened but they looked suspiciously relieved when Shinji finally showed up with singed hair and a blank look in her eyes.
"No," Shinji looked away again, "I just... You know that Chi sometimes wakes up, right?"
Sakura nodded slowly, 'Yeah, it's been keeping everyone busy at the hospital."
Chi's shouldn't be waking up. She was supposed to be in a coma. No one just randomly woke up from a coma and then fell right back into it.
If possible, Shinji looked even more uncomfortable, "Yeah so, apparently no one told Ibiki-sensei."
Sakura gaped at her for a moment while Shinji busied herself with her sandals.
"No one told-?" Sakura stuttered, "You didn't-?"
"I thought he knew!" Shinji cried out, "The nurses were supposed to keep him updated!'
The nurses kept this from him? Sakura blanched. In any case, no matter the clan of the Genin, the first person to be briefed about the Genin's health would be the teacher assigned to their team. Protocol demanded it and everyone did it.
"That's wrong." Sakura said, and quickly amended when she saw Shinji's face fall, "I mean the nurses are wrong. They are breaking the rules."
She couldn't enter that part of the hospital as an apprentice, but Sakura had learned how to manipulate her supervisors. Kakashi had actually taught her when she complained about the paperwork she had to do.
"Yeah," Shinji picked up a book on water-style ninjutsu, "so just let me hide here, alright?"
Sakura huffed and sat down. Her back hurt a little and the wind made her shoulder ache. "Sure."
The two huddled together over the books, far, far, far away from a certain Torture expert who patiently watched as the Jonin Commander tore into the hospital staff without mercy. The nurses and doctors would learn to remember just what T&I did.
Mission desk, late that day~
Ryuya could kiss the Chuunin behind the desk. She might have gone for a hug if it had been Iruka instead of Ebisu. Owl had left her at the gates, reminding her to report to Ibiki, before disappearing. At least now Ryuya could be assured that she wouldn't get a surprise assassination.
Owl had not been as attentive to her as she'd expected. Ryuya had no illusions however. She had been neglected because Owl wouldn't even dream of Ryuya doing anything other than her mission and hiding in a corner.
"Welcome back, " Ebisu droned, "glad you're still in one piece. Leave your signature here, and here- thank you, and be available for an extra debriefing if required."
Ryuya nodded and fled. Behind her, Ebisu repeated his greeting to another shinobi. She rolled her shoulders as she left the building. The world outside had turned gray and Ryuya felt like a foreigner.
The tension that had kept her awake in Sand hadn't quite left her mind. Most of it had seeped away when they crossed the border back into the Land of Fire, but her gut felt uneasy. She looked around intently, spotting the differences easily and forcing her mind to accept that what she saw was the reality.
The streets of Konoha were nothing like Sand. A cold wind blew through the streets, people huddled around stands selling fishcakes and roasted chestnuts, and yet she felt hunted.
The Uchiha district called out to her. Ryuya's skin crawled and she blinked tears out of her eyes. She had done her best to blur out Shisui's face from her memory but every now and then it popped up in her mind and it felt like a punch to her gut.
Aki had filled her in on his history. Jonin, ANBU, prodigy, one of the best Genjutsu users known to the village and in possession of a fully matured Sharingan. And Ryuya had called him a Genin.
She remembered the empty eyes. Shisui's eyes had been stolen, he said. He refused to tell her who did it and both Aki and Ryuya had come to the unspoken agreement that they would discover it. The tarantula had gone back to her nest as they left Sand, in the middle of the day. She wouldn't be back until Ryuya found a safe moment to start their research.
The T&I office building finally came into view. As ugly and intimidating as it looked, the sight made Ryuya giddy with relief. Coming home had many different meanings. Sometimes home was a childhood bed, the smell of wheat and burning wood and the sound of a family chattering away.
At this moment, Ryuya's home looked like the most uninspiring blank, concrete building with some fake windows and a tired guard on a dingy chair in the entrance. It reeked of bureaucracy and carpal tunnel syndrome, but Ryuya missed even that. It beat the scent of blood, feces and fear that lingered in the basements.
Ryuya sped up, wondering who she would see first. Ibiki would be busy with work and prisoners. She would have to surprise him and hope that she wouldn't meet Angry Ibiki. Only Shinji and Chi really knew how to handle that. Shinji by a complete lack of survival instincts and Chi by the knowledge that Ibiki couldn't kill her.
Chi...
Ryuya shook her head clear and marched up to the guard. There was a time and place for everything and diving into the complicated feelings she had towards her teammate could only be done with Shinji and a cup of tea.
A flash of brown and black caught her eye. Ryuya's arm blocked the hand before it even reached her. A week's worth of tension and anxiety came rushing back. Shinji's wide eyes stared at her.
"Shinji!"
Ryuya jumped away. Shinji blinked at her, "You noticed me?"
"Of course I did!" Ryuya exclaimed, trying to calm her racing heart, "You were in plain sight!"
Shinji muttered something unintelligible under her breath. Ryuya studied her. In the meager week she had been gone, it looked like Shinji had gone through a war on her own. Skinny, tired but with a feverish glint in her eyes.
"Anyway," Shinji recovered, "you need to come with me."
Ryuya looked back at the building, "I need to report to Ibiki-sensei first."
Shinji shook her head impatiently, "He won't see you. He's too busy, poor man. Come with me."
And just like that, Ryuya found herself dragged away to the prison of Konoha. Not the first place she had wanted to visit after her return. She would have preferred someplace with cake, and deadly people that didn't hate her.
When they arrived there, the other rookies had already gathered. Ryuya's confusion grew as she saw Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata and even Shikamaru and Ino and Choji huddled together. Perhaps spending time with the most dangerous prisoners had become a popular hobby while she had been out.
Her eyes lingered on Sasuke but instead of the usual butterflies and need to be near him, she felt a rush of anxiety. Aki had made her swear not to tell him at any cost. Ryuya promised but...
Sakura waved at them, urging the two to hurry up. She send a wide smile towards Ryuya, but no one bothered with niceties. Confusion blended with suspicion. All of Konoha's fresh Genin, minus Chi and Naruto, gathering in front of the prisons without a single teacher?
Ryuya could practically smell the trouble. A new knot began to form in her neck.
"Finally." Shikamaru sighed, hands in his pockets, "Let's get going."
As one, the group began to move. Ryuya glanced at Shinji, but the latter had pulled out a notebook and studied a page fervently. A dim twinge of jealousy went through Ryuya when Sakura nudged Sasuke and he let her pull him ahead without protest.
The village laid in shambles around them. The road towards the arena had suffered the most. Workers rushed up and down, delivering bricks and material to different levels of the plateaus they had build. Houses that remained standing were scorched, windows bashed in.
A group of shinobi spread out over the area and began to use basic water-style jutsus to clear the grime. One passerby complained about the giant crater in the forest and how they would need the First Hokage to fix that mess because a simple Dropping Lid certainly wouldn't cut it.
They walked all the way to the end of the village. When the famed gates became visible, Ryuya stopped.
"This is-" she began, but Shinji slapped her book on her mouth.
"Shh!" she hissed. Shino stepped forward and a tiny bug escaped his collar. They waited.
After an invisible signal, Kiba nodded along with Hinata, and the whole group moved again. Ryuya felt like a small child being led along the hand of her older cousin. They stepped inside the gates of the famed Uchiha compound.
Instantly, all the nerves she had frayed in the Land of Wind, came back to life. Ryuya fought the urge to summon Aki and instead kept her eyes open. Empty houses, empty streets and the occasional scrap of paper. Old posters and notes with no one to look at them.
Sasuke didn't lead. Instead Sakura confidently walked all the way to the biggest house and opened the door. Ryuya shuffled inside, and tried to quietly take her sandals off in the crowded hall. She had dreamed of this moment for so long, yet all she felt now was awkwardness.
Once they were all seated in the spacious living room, stiff-backed on tough little cushions around a low wooden table, and when it became apparent that no one else would start, Shikamaru began. He grabbed his backpack and produced a thin notebook, a few pens and a large folded sheet of paper.
"First things first," Shikamaru began, "whatever you hear here, is top-secret. I'm not joking. This is the kind of stuff that could get anyone killed. Don't discuss it with anyone outside of us."
He took a breath, staring hard at the paper, "If you understand that, feel free to back out now. Last chance."
No one moved. Sasuke lowered his chin, eyes on his lap. Sakura gently touched his leg with her knee, giving him a kind smile when he glanced at her. The Uchiha heir froze for a moment and then averted his eyes. Everyone chose to politely ignore his red ears.
Shikamaru put the paper in the center and smoothed it out. The beginning of a word web became visible. Sasuke looked away sharply. Ryuya leaned closer and blanched.
Uchiha Massacre
It was written in bold black ink right in the center. Thin lines expanded from either side to different keywords. Ryuya swallowed with difficulty. She had to say it. But maybe she could wait and see what they had discovered and how.
"The great mystery." Shikamaru intoned with great reluctance.
"We're going to solve this!" Kiba said, clenching his fist. His teammates nodded.
"I will use my beetles to the best of their abilities." Shino droned. His hand shot out and tapped on a word on the paper, "Together we will trace the origins of the foreigners in the compound."
Ryuya suddenly felt like she had missed more than a few group dinners. Shinji had put her notebook on the table and tapped her fingers on the leather cover. Her eyes were distant, lost in thought.
Hinata fiddled with her thumbs, the only part that betrayed her nervousness. She sat on folded legs, still as a statue. "I- I can help too!"
"What about your family?" Ino asked, leaning on the table.
Hinata looked down quickly, "It's fine... They don't- They won't mind."
Ino and Shikamaru shared a quick look. Even Choji looked up. An unspoken conversation went across the table and ended with the heirs giving each other a sad glance. Hinata gave a wobbly smile and turned her attention to her hands again.
"We're helping too." Ino stated, tossing her long hair back. Choji nodded enthusiastically.
"We got the details already and I can use my dad's connections to get more information." she continued.
Choji send Sasuke a warm smile, "I can help too. People talk a lot in restaurants, especially when they're drunk." he gave a mischievous wink.
"So what do we know?" Shikamaru signaled Shinji, who put her notes away and leaned over the paper.
"I'll add everything I know." she said, taking out a pen. Without looking up, she tapped in front of Sasuke, "Add whatever you remember."
Ino grimaced at her bluntness and Ryuya wondered how Owl would punish her for the blatant lack of diplomacy.
Shinji didn't care, she had lost her manners somewhere along the fourth time she had shadowed Ibiki.
Sasuke took a moment to collect his thoughts before he moved, haltingly and stiff as a board, to grab another pen and began to scribble. No one spoke out loud, which would have made Iruka proud, but for the person eavesdropping under the window, the silence became nerve-wracking.
Kurenai didn't dare to move. She sat on one knee, palms pressed against the wall as if she could read the vibrations of the thin wooden walls. Her heart hammered in her chest. The Genin were quiet, but their chakra's betrayed them. She wanted to cast a Genjutsu over them. Make them sleep and then meddle with their memories. Maybe she could try to erase the events.
Unfortunately, Sakura and Hinata were with them and there were too many variables to make this plan work. She didn't even know how to begin to explain to Hiashi Hyuuga why his daughter fell asleep in the Uchiha compound.
Kurenai had only one option and it meant leaving the kids and hoping they wouldn't trigger some sort of ancient curse or get caught by the ANBU or awaken bloody Madara. With a deep breath, she shifted her weight and began to move back. It would only take a tiny fluctuation of her chakra for either Hinata or Shino to discover her. Her kids were way too talented.
With cramped legs, Kurenai shuffled back until she could stand straight without being seen and quickly made her way out. The minute she saw the gate, Kurenai abandoned any secrecy and burst out of the compound.
The village flashed under her feet. The icy wind promised rain later on. Dark clouds packed just beyond the Hokage Monument and Kurenai sped up. She landed right in front of the bar, startling Guy who had just finished unlocking the door.
"Yo Kure-" Guy began, eyebrows high up his forehead. He never got to finish his greeting.
In her haste to open the door, Kurenai kicked him through it. The door slammed against the wall and poor Guy landed on the floor. Kurenai rushed inside and scanned the startled room.
99% of the guests inside had drawn their weapons. The bartender held up a bottle of tequila, ready to either throw it or pour a shot.
"Kurenai, what the hell?" Anko lowered the broken beer bottle. Her eyes were red, her hair stuck to her cheeks with drool and remains of alcohol. No doubt she had been asleep right until the door opened.
"Where is Asuma?" Kurenai demanded, sending a apologetic wave to Anko.
Hayate fell back in his seat, rubbing his chest, "Damn, you almost caused a brawl because you miss your man?"
Kurenai glared at him, trying to wrestle her impatience down. "Where are the other Jonin teachers? I need to discuss something with them."
Guy stepped closer, "What did the kids do?"
"Not yours." Kurenai shook her head, frowning as she tried to find any other teacher in the room.
She turned back to the door, "Can you tell whoever comes first to meet me as soon as possible?"
"Not gonna tell us what's up?" Anko yelled from the back.
Kurenai sighed but shook her head, "Not yet, sorry."
She stepped outside and shut the door. With Kakashi out of commission, Asuma most likely on a mission and Ibiki overworked, the only person she could go to now was Iruka. He would have to speed his plans up. The Genin were smart, but not smart enough. They had much to learn still, and right now they were kept safe by sheer luck.
Iruka had to know. The teachers had to know. The kids had to go into hiding. The teachers had to protect them with their lives. Simple as that.
Kurenai became a blur against the gray sky. Her red eyes zeroed in on the Academy where she knew the teacher would be. The kids were going to stay safe even if it were the last thing she'd ever do.
On the Road in the Land of Fire~
The sky looked ominous today. No doubt it would rain soon enough. Jiraiya could smell it coming and he hoped the rain wouldn't include lighting. In a dense forest like the one they were in now, the chance of a tree getting struck rose to frightening levels. That, and both Naruto and he were decked out in very conducting armor and carried steel weapons.
Naruto bounced over the ground and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The twenty remaining Naruto's sighed. The real Naruto swore impressively and crossed his bare arms across his chest. The seal on his stomach stood out like a grim reminder of his potential.
"Why don't you shut the hell up!" Naruto yelled furiously.
The seal also reminded Jiraiya that Naruto now apparently had frequent conversations with the fox inside of him. Because why would Jiraiya's life stay easy? He'd taken the kid under his wing to help him control the fox, but he had not foreseen this.
A fatal mistake on his part if he were honest. Naruto could probably befriend a brick wall. He'd managed a Ketsueki and an Uchiha, two of the most notoriously hard to deal with clans in the Land of Fire. Nothing could be put past him.
The fox didn't do much, according to the boy. He just complained and threatened to eat him if Naruto tried his Sexy Jutsu again. Sometimes he came up with tips like: 'Stop eating ramen, you're a ninja, you need meat.' or disguised threats: 'You need to wear brighter clothes and always yell when you see the enemy.' and nothing in between.
The last part had led to Naruto starting to look for darker clothes. Until now, the darkest he had gone had been a red sweater that Jiraiya had found in a thrift shop. It had the image of a lollipop on the front and they both figured it would be the closest thing to the Uzumaki swirl they could find around here.
"How about I blow you up, huh?!" Naruto turned red.
Jiraiya decided to step in, "No one is going to get blown up, kid. Tell that to the fox."
Naruto huffed, "He's saying that your hair looks like his first ever hairball."
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, "Well that's a lie because the fox is made out of chakra. He can't cough up anything!"
"Now he's calling you 'dumb and naive'," Naruto narrated, "and your face looks like a toad."
"He has fur and claws and teeth-" Naruto continued, oblivious to Jiraiya's tight expression.
"Yeah, well, right now he's just chakra in you." Jiraiya grumbled, "That's what I meant."
Naruto looked confused but thankfully the fox distracted him again. Every time the fox would speak, Naruto's face would go blank and for a moment his eyes would stare at nothing. He had a sewer in his head, the boy told him once.
A sewer and a huge fence where the fox was locked behind. A meager sheet of paper representing the seal. A lousy result of one of the most effective sealing techniques. Did the Uzumaki's know? He had the feeling that Kushina would not have been impressed.
Jiraiya watched Naruto stomp around the grass, muttering curses while trying to decipher where the sleeves of his sweater had gone. He had just managed to pull out one sleeve, when Jiraiya had and epiphany.
"Hey kid," he started, feeling excitement chase away the bitter taste in his mouth, "do you wanna learn the Great Clone Explosion Jutsu?"
Oh yes. That expression matched Kushina's perfectly. That same joy, the same passion, the same insanity. It send a shiver down his spine.
"Clone Explosion?" Naruto gaped.
"You have everything that jutsu requires so why not?" Jiraiya grinned.
The kid jumped in the air.
Another unfortunate little town in the Land of Fire, at night~
"Did you make out with a flamethrower?"
Jiraira muttered a curse as his old teammate sank down in one of the cozy chairs in the boot. Tsunade gave him a ghost of her old mischievous smirk. It almost reached his tear-ducts. He kicked the table between them to hit her knee. It curled her lips even higher.
"How do you keep finding me?" she asked, lifting a hand to order more sake. Jiraiya groaned at the four fingers she held up.
"I have a network." he replied and leaned back, "How come you're not trying to kill me on sight?"
Drinks arrived, pausing their conversation. The nervous waitress put two shot glasses and a plate of salty snacks down before fleeing behind the bar where her other co-workers huddled together. Tsunade sighed.
"Shizune." she poured them a shot, "She's been giving me signals that it's time I go back to Konoha."
Jiraiya shot forward, "Oh?"
He'd have to give Shizune a reward for risking her health like that. She could have just made his life so much easier. Tsunade send him an unimpressed glance and downed her shot,
"I haven't agreed yet." she wiped her lips, huffing at the obvious disappointment in her friend's face. "A lot has happened, Jiraiya. You know that."
"A lot can still happen." Jiraiya mused, picking up his glass, "We can change it, we have to."
"What, to make up for sensei's mistakes?" Tsunade spat bitterly.
Jiraiya winced, only partly because the sake burned down his empty stomach. "If you have to call it that."
"Jiraiya," Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "you're dumb but even you know-"
He knew. He also knew how much his teacher had done, and in what kind of environment he had to function. The decisions he had to make. Knowing that had cemented his decision to not ever try for that position.
"Sensei tried, but they didn't let him." Jiraiya said.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. They drank in silence, eying each other and listening to the crunching of the crackers.
"Sometimes I wonder," Tsunade suddenly spoke, "if it was really him that did all that. He used to be so strict with us."
"Bad influences." Jiraiya offered, "Bad friends, bad times."
"He should have stayed retired." Tsunade muttered, shoving a handful of crackers in her mouth. "Picked someone young and bold."
"Like?" Jiraiya rubbed his eyes. He envied Naruto, who had gone to bed as soon as they had reached their motel. He'd spend all day practicing with his clones, enduring the rain that had caught up with them. By the end he had just managed a cup of ramen before nodding off.
"Kakashi." Tsunade prompted and they both giggled. Jiraiya shook his head, smile fading faster than it usually did.
"It's not like anyone had anticipated Minato-" he stopped abruptly, pouring another shot. Tsunade gave him a pitying look.
"Or Kushina, she wanted to become a Hokage too." she said softly.
"You're fit, to be honest." Jiraiya said, leaning back into his chair. The warmth of a nearby fireplace made him droopy.
"In what universe?" Tsunade chuckled.
"The one where we need you." Jiraiya mumbled.
It became quiet after that. The two old friends drank enough bottles to get six adults drunk. Jiraiya remembered being carried to his room accompanied with a bouquet of lavender and the sweet taste of sake on his tongue.
When he woke the next morning, he swore to never touch alcohol again.
The Temple of the Fallen, noon~
In many ways, Tsunade had hoped he had left by now. Her decade long experience as both a shinobi and a medic kept her from openly expressing her dismay upon seeing Orochimaru's yellow eyes in the temple.
"Sorry, I couldn't travel through the rain." Tsunade waved her hand, "I had to wait for a bit. Hope I'm not too late."
Orochimaru emerged from the shadows, looking worse than the last time she'd seen him. His paper-like skin hung from his cheekbones, flaky and wrinkled, framed by greasy hair.
"Only a whole day," he replied, "nothing unusual by your standards."
Tsunade's smile showed more teeth than the etiquette her grandmother had insisted she learn required.
"Let's get this over with." she motioned him closer, "Where is your minion?"
Orochimaru motioned to the side, where the boy squatted against the statue of a kunai. "Where is yours?"
Tsunade pointed behind her. Shizune had taken position near a stone shuriken.
"This place is tacky." Tsunade commented, keeping a careful eye on Orochimaru as he approached her. The garden surrounding the stone path leading to the temple, had a few grimy statues scattered between withered rose bushes and patches of grass.
White stone overgrown with moss and and splattered with mud. The once smooth stones that paved the path had eroded. Pits and scratches caught the meager sunlight and glittered. The sweet scent of rotten flowers and wet grass spread out, filled the empty air. The temple still looked as regal as it did when they were young.
Completely made of marble, smooth and polished then, dirty and yellowed now. It had no door, only a gaping black square that lead to the huge shrine inside. Tsunade refused to enter, resolutely stopping right in front of the stairs. Orochimaru didn't try to hide his groan as he climbed the three steps down.
By some miracle, he looked even more terrible up close. Smelled horrific too. Tsunade considered breathing through her mouth but didn't want to potentially inhale Orochimaru's dead skin.
"Lie down." she commanded, stepping back to give him some space, and massaging her wrists. Kabuto's eyes were on her. He looked like he had recovered some more, and Tsunade hated to admit it, but she feared Shizune would not be able to hold him off.
She squatted beside her old teammate, who looked blissfully dead. She scanned his body with one hand pressed on his greasy crown and one hovering above his chest. Her chakra ran through his system in quick pulses, encountering enough curiosities to fill a novel. She ignored them all and focused on the arms.
Her chakra reached his shoulders and went down his upper arms, only to get fired back halfway down. Orochimaru bit his lips but he couldn't stop his gasp. Tsunade pulled her hand away from his head.
"It's blocked alright." she muttered to herself while wiping her hand on her pants. She looked at him, "This is going to hurt, so tell your minion over there not to start attacking when I'm trying to open your chakra paths."
"Can you do it?" Orochimaru gritted out, eyes narrowing on her. A thin layer of sweat started to form on his skin, giving it an oil-like sheen. Tsunade only felt a little bad for letting her powerful Senju chakra freely race through his weak and sensitive body.
"Who do you think I am?" she snapped haughtily, "tell that boy to back off and shut up."
Orochimaru turned his head and presumably met Kabuto's eyes. "You heard her. Don't interrupt."
No answer. Just a brief shuffle and Shizune giving a short burst of chakra as confirmation.
Tsunade summoned her medical kit from a scroll and took a short, round stick out. She poked Orochimaru's lips until he parted them and put the stick sideways in his mouth as if he were a dog rather than a snake.
Orochimaru bit down hard. Clearly he cared about his venomous tongue more than anyone else did. Tsunade just didn't want his screams to alert everyone around them. She stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles.
She positioned his hands over his stomach and then placed one palm on top of both. Her free hand went to his chest. With closed eyes she could feel his pulse under his skin. Orochimaru had never been so weak, so fragile. Tsunade pretended to frown and pressed harder.
Her chakra stirred as if it tried to ask Tsunade if she was sure. Did she really mean to do this? Tsunade pushed through and her chakra obeyed as it always did.
Orochimaru gasped and shuddered. His blood roared. His heart pumped frantically. Tsunade envisioned her chakra pulsing through his body. The seal on his arms reacted violently but she slid passed it. Sensing no animosity, the seal calmed down. Tsunade pressed her lips tightly together.
A distant sound got her attention. Shizune shouted, much closer than before. A sharp pain exploded in Tsunade's neck, traveling down her spine and suddenly she stared up at the sky. Kabuto stood over her, panting but grim. He reached over and helped Orochimaru to his feet.
Shizune stood at Tsunade's side, and propped her up. Orochimaru gave them all a look.
"She tried to kill you." Kabuto explained, glaring at Tsunade.
"You little-" Tsunade gritted out, "you hit my nervous system!"
"Master!" Shizune shifted, her hidden hand reaching for her senbon.
Orochimaru tried to speak, probably to lament the broken bonds and lack of comradery, but the fresh blood clots in his body made it hard to speak. Tsunade managed a nasty grin.
"You'll pay for this." Kabuto growled, putting his master down and producing a kunai from his pocket.
"Don't you dare-" Tsunade snapped to Shizune, but soon found herself facing the sky again. Tonton poked her cheek.
The familiar clash of metal cut through the thin air. Shizune's poison tinged the grassy scent with a floral perfume that tasted bitter on the tongue. Smart girl.
This particular poison had the nasty side-effect of reducing the oxygen-transporting ability of the red blood cells. Whomever inhaled it became nauseous, dizzy and once the poison entered the bloodstream, clots began to form.
Now if only she had made a cut on Orochimaru...
Shizune tried, but Kabuto kept chasing her further away from the two limp legends. She blocked another kunai and send two poisoned senbon in return. Kabuto ducked out of their path.
"Poison-mist jutsu!"
She blew out a stream of purple gas that formed a cloud. Kabuto jumped away but the cloud grew. Shizune used the cover to jump behind a statue of a katana, and brought her hands together.
"Shadow Clone jutsu!"
Four clones appeared and spread out. Shizune Flickered to the top of the statue. Kabuto had escaped the poison, but looked exhausted from a distance. The other two still looked like limp noodles tossed aside. Tsunade had managed to get up at least, but didn't seem capable of much else.
Shizune joined her clones, as they surrounded Kabuto. A barrage of senbon shot at him from all sides, hitting his body. Kabuto froze and fell to his knees with a gurgle.
Yes!
A kunai appeared at her neck. The Kabuto in front of her burst apart in a cloud of smoke.
No...
Shizune cursed quietly. Kabuto's breath fanned over her neck.
"Nice technique." he said, pressing the kunai closer. "Haven't seen poison that strong in a long time. Care to explain how you managed it? One medic to another?"
"I can demonstrate it again, if you'd like." Shizune offered.
"Heh," Kabuto huffed, and the kunai drew blood, "how about I make you recover my master or I kill you and yours and then have the pig for dinner."
Shizune took a deep breath, and blew out another cloud of poison. Kabuto shot away, throwing himself behind the shuriken. Shizune closed her eyes and jumped straight up in the air, until she could no longer sense the particles of her own chakra.
The cloud had formed an impressive mushroom. Kabuto stared at her from the top of the shuriken and Shizune instantly knew his plan. His hands flew through seals.
"Water-release: Water Dragon Bullet jutsu!"
Shizune's eyes went wide. The only nearby source of water she knew of was a dried up fountain all the way at the beginning of the path. Yet, the dragon soared through the sky, jaw opened and ready to have Shizune for lunch.
Shizune stared straight into the mass of water. Distantly, she heard Tsunade shout. Voices joined her, but everything narrowed down to the whistling in her ears, the feeling of weightlessness in the air and the sudden thought that they might not make it out of this fight after all.
I'm sorry... Uncle Dan.