Sasuke's Pov.

In front of the hideout one could already hear Jūgo's raging inside.

»You'll wait here,« Shizuka said, taking one last look at Akito before going inside.

On the way here Shizuka had told me that Akito now also had the curse mark, which explained why he should come with us. He should see what happened when you lost control of yourself and the curse mark.

I knew myself where this could lead to, after all I had experienced it firsthand during the Chunin exams. You lost control of your own actions. Even if I hadn't done anything to my team, I have been ruthless and ready to kill.

»What's going on in there?« Akito asked, looking a little scared when it rumbled again.

»Jūgo is the cornerstone for the curse mark that Orochimaru has modified. He's actually a quiet fellow, as you know, but when irritated, he can be different and lose control. Lately he's calmed down and doesn't get irritated that easily. So I'm assuming that whoever did that got really abusive,« I replied.

There was a loud crash and the next moment Shizuka came flying out of the entrance.

She could easily keep up with Jūgo if she wasn't so intent on not hurting him. The orange-haired teen was able to heal himself, so why did she bother?

While she was wiping the blood from her sore cheek, I heard Shizuka say, »If Jūgo hasn't already killed the person responsible for this mess, I'll do it when I'm done here.«

She got back on her feet and had to fend off Jūgo, who stormed out of hideout. The majority of his body was covered by the curse mark and his arm was shaped like a blade.

Akito now looked panicked as he hid behind me and grabbed my arm. He was a little coward, still.

»Get ahold of yourself, Jūgo!« the Kunoichi cursed and parried his blade with her tantō.

»Why is he attacking Shizuka when they're friends?« the young Kurama asked softly and looked confused at the fighting couple.

»Because he's out of his mind right now. He doesn't recognize her. She either manages to bring him back to his senses or she ends up pulling him into a Genjutsu,« I explained.

I saw Jūgo disarm her before he hurled her into the nearby rock and pinned her to her throat with one hand.

»Oi Sasuke! I ... could use some help,« she pressed the words out between clenched teeth before kicking Jūgo in the stomach.

He let go of her and the Uchiha went down panting.

»Stay here and don't make him aware of you!« I warned Akito, who immediately got to safety behind a small rock.

Jūgo had jumped up again and aimed at Shizuka. I drew my katana Kusanagi and fought off his blade. I had almost forgotten about the strength Jūgo had, but now I felt it, because the pressure increased.

»Can you hold out?« asked Shizuka, who was now on her feet again.

I gave a brief nod.

The black-haired female teleported behind the orange-haired teen and drew his attention back to herself. A quick look from her told me what she was up to.

She let herself be pushed back by the adolescent. When I was sure that he was completely fixated on her, I stepped in, pushed him to the ground with a targeted blow and sat on his torso.

Jūgo's wild expression twisted into an angry grimace.

The kunoichi hurried to get behind me. Jūgo's gaze turned to her only for a moment, which was enough to pull him into a genjutsu.

I noticed how the orange-haired male relaxed completely under me.

»You didn't have to hit him that hard,« she chided me as I straightened up and stood across from her.

»You shouldn't always be so soft about him. If you keep doing this, you really will die eventually,« I replied.

I put her chin between my fingers and checked her face for further injuries. In addition to a split lip, she had a laceration on the back of her head and a few small cuts on her right cheek.

I placed chase kiss on her forehead before letting go of her again. I knew she didn't think much of it, but she didn't say anything. Except for Akito, nobody was here anyway.

»That happens when you lose control,« she said to Akito, who was slowly approaching.

He just nodded and stared paralyzed at Jūgo lying on the floor.

»We have to get it sealed. I don't want him walking around with it like nothing happened. Do you think Itachi could do this?« the Uchiha quizzed me and pointed at the boy.

»I don't know if he can do any fūinjutsu, but it could be,« I spoke.

Akito took turns looking at us and didn't seem to understand anything.

»Did you activate it by chance?« she asked him.

He shook his head and she looked satisfied.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jūgo's body move. Akito immediately disappeared behind Shizuka.

»What happened?« Shizuka questioned the youth.

»I just remember that I was provoked. A new guy has talked ill about you; insulted you as monsters. I wanted him to stop, but that spurred him on even more. I got angry and then lost control,« he said briefly.

»You shouldn't be upset about that crap. You know better than that,« she said, and sat down in front of him.

He nodded and looked at her apologetically. Actually, I could understand that the prisoners talked about us like that. Some of them were here because of us.

»Let's go in and see what a mess you've made,« she said, getting up and reached out her hand to the older youth.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kabuto's Pov.

»Is everything prepared?«

»Yes Orochimaru-sama, but don't you think it would be too dangerous? Shizuka is already unpredictable,« I quizzed.

»Let that be my concern. I will calm her with some information for the time being, before we start with further experiments. I am curious to see how she will react to this and whether she is able to use and control the power. When all the components come together, I would be unstoppable,« he replied with a dark smile.

He had worked towards this day for years. The plan to change Akito's genes and combine them with the genes of the Uchiha had been successful.

I was less confident about the plan he had with Shizuka. Should she lose control, she would be a danger to everyone.

Fūinjutsu - Sealing Jutsu