Ko sat in the forest healing a deer that Kabuto had injured moments earlier. When she first learned medical ninjutsu, Kabuto only taught her the basics but now he's making her heal organs and diagnose prisoners. Kabuto had injured its stomach making sure to puncture the organ so Ko could practice.
"Hmm, interesting." Kabuto said breaking the silence between them.
"What?" Ko questioned as she finished healing the deer and stretched.
"That you have a belly button." Kabuto said with a straight face.
At first Ko was confused but then a blush appeared on her face once she noticed her stomach was showing. "What?! Why have you been looking at my stomach?!" Ko exclaimed covering her exposed torso.
"It's not like that idiot," Kabuto snapped. "Anatomy lesson, the medical term is umbilical since that's where the umbilical cord connects to the fetus from the mother."
"What does that have to do with me?" Ko wasn't sure where he was getting at but motioned for him to continue.
"Do you know what Orochimaru needed out of the cabin?" He questioned changing the subject.
"No, now answer my first question." She crossed her arms indicating she was getting impatient.
"He grabbed his files on past experiments including one on you." He said pulling out a manila folder. Ko grabbed it and opened the folder starting to read through Orochimaru's notes on her.
September 6 Entry
I've decided to make the perfect ninja out of my DNA and the DNA from a powerful clan. I first thought of the Uchiha clan or the Hyuuga but they're too close to home and would be heavily guarded. I decided to research more clans from various villages discovering the Himura clan from the Mist. I've found the perfect subject; Shimi Himura. During my research I've found that she is the prodigy of the clan also an easy target. Since the last war, their numbers have been scarce making them easy targets for a surprise attack.
September 30 Entry
Because of lack of technology, my plans have changed. I wanted to produce a worthy ninja artificially but it seems I had to do it the old fashion way. Shimi is pregnant with my heir which I hope won't be a disappointment. Now that I think about it, it might be beneficial to me for having someone taking care of the child in her early years and when I'm away in the village.
May 28 Entry
The child was born today; a little earlier than expected. Sadly it was a girl when I hoped for a boy so I let the woman name her Ko. I will be leaving the hideout to go back to Leaf leaving the two here. I will only return to bring the two supplies but while I'm gone my snakes will be guarding them so she can't escape with the child.
Ko closed the file quickly getting up from her spot and headed towards the hideout with anger building up inside of her. She stormed into the hideout walking past Sasuke who tried to say something but she was already gone before he could complete his sentence. Without knocking, Ko barged into Orochimaru's office holding up the folder.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Ko shouted with anger tossing the file onto his desk.
Orochimaru propped up his elbow on the desk resting his head on his hand. He looked from Ko to the folder before speaking. "I see you've been snooping," he said with a calm voice.
"You said I was artificially created not artificially inseminated. You lied to me about having a mother!"
"Calm down Ko, you only needed your mother for the first few years and once you were able to take care of yourself, you didn't need her anymore."
Ko took a deep breath trying to calm down then looked over at Orochimaru. It was useless, she couldn't stop thinking about what her Mother had endured being held prisoner while pregnant with a child she didn't want.
"What did you do to her?"
"Disposed of her of course, if you read the file then you should know I wasn't planning on having an extra guest."
Ko shook her head then stormed out of the room heading towards hers not even noticing Sasuke a few feet away from her. Once she was in her room, Ko started to pack her weapons. She looked at her desk eyeing the puppet she started to work on over the past few months but decided not to pack it.
"It isn't ready for battle yet; I want it to be perfect." Ko said to herself then continued packing.
She finished packing everything she needed then headed for the emergency exit on the other side of the hideout which was there just in case there was another repeat at the sound but she stopped when she sensed Sasuke following her.
"My sensing skills may be rusty but I know you're following me Sasuke." Ko said turning around to face him.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke questioned stepping out of the shadows.
"The Mist village, now why are you following me?"
"You were suppose to train me today to improve my summoning technique. Traveling to the Mist would be a better opportunity for me to train."
"You aren't going anywhere. The Leaf is most likely still looking for you and going through the Land of Fire is the only way to get there. We'd be gone for days and Lord Orochimaru will not be happy having his prized pupil traveling a great distance risking everything he worked for."
"I'm hardly learning anything here. Facing actual opponents will help me see if I improved at all over these past few months."
"I'm not risking my life just because you want to go on an adventure and test your strength. If you die, my fate will be worse than death."
"I won't be killed, and I'll take the blame." Sasuke suggested which piqued Ko's interest.
"Fine, if you want to take the blame then you write him a note. Tell him you asked if I could train you outside of the hideout so we'll be gone for a few days and that we won't be anywhere near the Land of Fire. He might believe it since most of the summonings are too big to fit in the training room. This whole thing was your idea. Got it?"
"Hn," he replied but gave her a slight nod.
"Good, now pack everything you can. Mist ninja are not to be messed with. You remember what Zabuza said about the entry exam...even though it was years ago, the Mist is still ruthless."
Sasuke nodded and headed back to his room packing everything he needed for the mission. He was glad to finally get out of the hideout actually missing the fresh air. They have been in the new hideout for three months straight not being able to go outside. He did wonder why Ko wanted to go to the Mist despite hearing the argument between her and Orochimaru. Once he was finished packing, he wrote exactly what Ko told him to and walked back to the emergency exit where she was waiting for him.
Ko climbed up the ladder then lifted the hatch but it wouldn't budge. She tried again but still it wouldn't move; she assumed there was something on top of it. She let out a growl in anger as she poured chakra into her fist punching the hatch which finally opened. Despite her hand throbbing in pain, she continued up the ladder hoisting herself up out of the hole onto the grass. Sasuke followed in suit noticing her nursing her wounded hand.
"Damn that hurt," she complained as she started to heal it. "I think I might have sprained my hand or broke something." They both looked over at the hatch seeing there was a big rock next to it most likely the reason why it wouldn't budge. "Who the hell put that there?!"
"Which way do we go? There's nothing but trees." Sasuke pointed out getting Ko's attention.
She looked around seeing they were surrounded by trees and various vegetation not seeing a single path. She activated her Subete Miru attempting to find the way out but she saw nothing but trees all around them.
"Great...thanks Dad." Ko muttered to herself.
"What?" Sasuke questioned unable to hear her.
"There's nothing but trees surrounding us. Apparently Lord Orochimaru thought it would be a good escape plan to use the forest but he's the only one who knows how to get out of here."
"You mean you don't know the way out?!" Sasuke shouted in anger.
"I wasn't even here when he made this hideout! I've been in your stupid village for six years! How was I suppose to know that the exit would lead to an endless forest? All I saw was an exit that brought us closer to the Mist so we didn't have to spend a lot of time in the Land of Fire."
"Great, what do we do now?" He asked crossing his arms.
"Close the hatch and we start walking." Ko answered as she reached into her bag pulling out a map. "Let's head south then after we reach a small town we should head East until we reach the shore."
"Do you know what town it is?" Ko sighed then closed the map shoving it back into her bag. She stood up and faced away from Sasuke. "Yes, it's the town we were in for our last mission; the town of Tinzaku." Ko said as she started to walk ahead.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Sasuke questioned as he caught up to her.
"Look up at the moon, it's a crescent moon so if you line up the two points towards the horizon that indicates we're going south." She explained.
"How do you know this?"
"Well since I could hardly train in the village, I read a lot of books."
Sasuke looked up at the moon seeing it was high in the sky so they were able to see parts of it despite the tall trees towering over them. Both of them were thankful they've been in the dark for many months making it easy to navigate through the forest. The two walked for a few hours before Ko stopped.
"We should rest and continue tomorrow."
"I'm good, we should keep going." Sasuke insisted.
Ko rolled her eyes then activated her eyes seeing if they made any progress. She was relieved to see the treeline only five miles away. "Fine, we travel a little longer but we rest once we get within a mile of the tree line. If you're still not tired then we can work on your summoning jutsu, deal?"
"Deal,"
They reached their destination within a few minutes setting there things down at the base of a tree. There wasn't much space but Ko figured Sasuke won't be able to summon a snake as big as Manda anytime soon; he only just started a few days ago.
"Alright now draw your chakra into one hand once you finish the seal. The more chakra you have the bigger the summon. Once you're use to summoning, you'll be able to know how much you need to summon each snake." Ko explained.
"I already know this, I want to know why I can't summon anything bigger?" Sasuke said in frustration.
Ko knew it was hurting his pride not being able to summon a big snake but it has only been a few days. The biggest snake he was able to summon was Tori who was the same size as a full grown human male. She was secretly glad he was having trouble since it didn't take her as long to summon Manda.
"Okay focus," Ko instructed. "Make the necessary hand signs slowly concentrating all your chakra into the hand you use to summon."
Sasuke nodded following her instructions then after a few moments, he slammed his hand to the ground summoning a snake as tall as two people. Ko felt a little pride in his work knowing her instructions helped him but he still didn't look satisfied.
"That's it?" He growled.
"It takes practice Sasuke. Once you get the hang of it you'll be able to summon whichever snake you want."
"Can't you teach me something else?" Sasuke complained. "This is useless."
"It could save your life Sasuke; summonings help in battle." She lectured as she sat down leaning up against a tree.
"Teach me how to use my curse mark. I still can't activate it whenever I want." He demanded towering over her.
"Love to help Sasuke, but I don't have a curse mark." Ko tried not to let her jealousy show but her tone gave it away.
"But you're his daughter, how don't you have it?"
"I don't know, he always ignored that question. I guess he didn't perfect it yet since he just started experimenting on Juugo." Sasuke was about to question who Juugo was but figured if it was important he'd meet him eventually.
"He could've given it to you at the exams or when you came back." Sasuke pointed out.
"I'll start a fire, you need rest." She said avoiding the conversation.
Ko gathered some wood and started a fire then set up her sleeping bag. Sasuke did the same while keeping an eye on her. "I'll take first watch, you need your rest." Ko instructed.
Sasuke tried arguing but soon gave up and fell asleep. Ko had her eyes activated scanning the area hoping no one would attack them. She wanted to avoid any attention at all cost. She thought back to what Sasuke had said about Orochimaru not giving her the cursemark. It has crossed her mind a few times but before she accepted it. Now, she is curious to know the real answer.
After a few hours, Ko woke up Sasuke so she could sleep. Once she was awake, Ko and Sasuke packed their things and headed out of the forest. Ko was grateful her leg didn't hurt anymore or else this journey would've killed her. She dug into her bag then handed Sasuke a mask like Kakashi's and a bamboo hat along with another one for her.
"Here put these on, we don't need anyone recognizing us." Ko instructed.
Ko took off her head band off her waist then tied it around her head putting the hat over it then put on her mask as Sauske did the same. As they walked on the path, Ko kept a lookout and saw four people coming their way.
"We've got company, it doesn't look like they've noticed us yet so lower your chakra and hold my hand." She instructed.
"What?! I'm not holding your hand. We can take them." Sasuke protested.
"We can't bring attention to ourselves Sasuke. You said you wanted to have a learning experience out here so here it is. During an undercover mission you must play a role in order to be successful. How do you think Orochimaru got into the village? He played a role; for petes sake he was the Sound ninja's sensei and no one noticed even though he was standing with them."
Sasuke is reluctant but followed her directions and held her hand. He could see the group up ahead most likely a Genin team with their sensei. Thankfully, Ko came prepared for a situation like this or else they would've gotten caught. As the group passed, Ko studied them seeing she was right about them being only a Genin team from the Grass Village. The Genin paid no mind but the Jonin seemed suspicious of them. The two only looked forward then Ko leaned more into Sasuke making them look more like a couple. Sasuke was reluctant but didn't protest even though he felt very uncomfortable.
"See, now that wasn't that hard." Ko said as she let go of Sasuke's hand and pushed herself away from him. "It was only a Genin team and they weren't any threat to us."
"Do you know where we are?" Sasuke questioned happy his hat was hiding the blush that dusted his cheeks.
Ko looked up at the sky looking at the sun then at the path they are on. "Well the sun is still rising which makes that direction East, we're still heading South which is good." She had a small smile on her face feeling pretty relaxed. She had been on her guard at the hideout; she still fears Orochimaru has no use for her and will get rid of her any day now. Her composure didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke which made him relax as well.
The rest of their trip was in silence as they avoided many other shinobi that crossed their path even though Sasuke protested. Ko was thankful that they didn't have to pass the town that was the cause of her nightmares. Instead, they came across a merchant who gladly told them how to get to the shore on a faster route. When they reached the water, the two began to run across it eventually landing on an island at dusk.
"Is the Mist village on this land?" Sasuke whispered taking in his surroundings.
Just like at the Land of Waves, the mist covered the land leaving it almost impossible to see two feet in front of them. Ko scanned the area with her Subete Miru looking for the hidden village.
"It's not on this one but there's another island a little to the North East." Ko answered.
"Does that mean we have to check every island? There's at least twelve islands in the Land of Water." Sasuke pointed out.
Ko pulled out the map pointing to the island closer to the peninsula. "I believe we are right on this island." She then moved her finger to the larger island in the middle. "The Mist should be on this one since it's huge compared to the rest."
"How can you be sure we're on that island?"
"It's closer to the mainland and with my eyes I can see two islands on either side of us which should be these ones right here." She pointed to the two with her pointer and middle fingers. Do you have enough chakra to walk further?"
"Plenty,"
Ko nods to him then ran onto the water running towards the bigger island. It doesn't take them long until they could see the land. Both were thankful they were finally on land; Sasuke went to walk ahead but Ko grabbed his shirt pulling him back.
"Hey what was that for?!" He said with an irritated look.
Ko pointed straight ahead, "activate your sharingan," she instructed.
Sasuke looked to where she was pointing seeing nothing then looked back at her. He closed his eyes then reopened them with the sharingan activated. He looked back over to where she was pointing seeing a chakra dome covering the area with symbols saying barrier and boundary. He'd never seen anything like it before. Ko tied her hair up in a tight bun not wanting her hair to get in the way.
"W-what is that?"
"It's a chakra barrier, most villages use sensory ninja to create it in order to detect intruders from entering the village. The Leaf actually had one also but Kakashi always took care of it for us."
"How do we get through then?"
"Already thought of it, link your arm with mine."Sasuke gave her a questioning look but did as he was told linking their arms together. Ko started to make hand signs. "Earth Style: Earth Military Movement," she whispered.
At first, Sasuke was alarmed when they both started to slowly sink into the ground but calmed himself knowing it was only Ko's jutsu. Once they were underground, Sasuke felt light as a feather. Both he and Ko moved through the ground at a fast pace as if they were flying.
"Do you know where you're going?" Sasuke questioned.
"Stop doubting me Sasuke, we're almost there." Ko responded.
Finally, they stopped and rose back to the surface appearing behind a building. Sasuke was about to ask another question but Ko signaled him to stay quiet. They scaled the building eventually climbing into a window.
"Stay quiet and look for anything on the Himura clan. I'll have my eyes activated the whole time keeping a lookout. If you find any books put them in my bag." She explained handing him her bag. "I can't read with my eyes activated so it's up to you; anything will work."
Sasuke only nodded then went to search for the books. He wouldn't have guessed she brought them to a library but it was a good place to start. He was thankful that everything was in alphabetical order so it wouldn't take that long to find what he was looking for. When he reached the H's, he saw two books on Ko's clan then quickly put them in the bag. A whistling noise caught his attention realizing it was Ko signaling someone was coming. Quickly, he put the bag on his back and rushed towards her. They both suppressed their chakra hurrying out of the building back the way they came.
"Did you find anything?" Ko whispered once she knew no one was around.
"I found two books, is that all we came here for?"
"No, I also wanted to see the compound." She admitted.
"Are you crazy? How are we going to find it? I can tell this village is huge."
"That's why I didn't want you to come. I've figured everything out on our way here. I knew it was dangerous when I decided to leave but you insisted. We infiltrated the village, found the library, and now I have to find the compound."
"How are you going to find it?"
"Easy, I'm going to look for Rin's chakra."
"The girl from the preliminaries? That's even more crazy than trying to find the compound. If she finds you or her family does, they're going to kill you for killing their kin."
"It's the only way Sasuke. She said they live right next to the compound so if I can sense her chakra, then it'll lead me there. If you don't want to help then go back to the hideout."
"You know I can't find it without you," Sasuke grumbled.
"Then I guess you're staying, now let's go." Ko grabbed his arm dragging him through the gloomy village avoiding the main roads.
"Wait you already found her?"
"Yeah, while you were complaining." She answered with a smirk knowing that remark got on Sasuke's nerves. "And before you ask, most of the patrolling shinobi are guarding the gates and the Mizukage. In the library there was, I'm guessing, an employee coming into the building; I didn't sense any chakra from them."
Sasuke nodded and continued to follow Ko through the village eventually finding the compound on the other side of the village. The stone gates were in between two houses with saying on them 'stay away' and 'leave'.
"Hm looks like my clan wasn't very welcoming to outsiders." Ko commented tapping her chin with her index finger.
They both jumped up onto the wall scanning the compound which was now in ruins. It was a lot smaller than Ko expected. There was only one big house, which was more intact that the others, with five smaller houses on either side followed by a few shops but they were almost burnt to the ground. They walked down the streets leading to the bigger house guessing it was the main families.
"I know the clan wasn't that big, but I never imagined it was this small." Ko said looking at each building.
Sasuke didn't answer not knowing what to say. They entered the house and started looking for anything on the clan but it was hard to look through the debris. Ko looked in the bedrooms while Sasuke searched the other rooms. Ko couldn't help but stare at a picture frame of what she guessed was the whole clan; she counted thirty people. They all had brown spiky hair, except the children, with red eyes just like Rin said but they didn't look happy to be near each other.
The clan leader was obviously in the back looking stressed, most likely from the dysfunctional family in front of him. Ko guessed that each house in the compound was a family since there were more children than adults. She took the picture out of the frame putting it in her weapons pouch. Finally getting back to searching, she found a few scrolls locked in a trunk which she forcefully opened then headed back to Sasuke.
"We need to get out of here," she told him, "I see movement in one of the houses next door. They're getting ready and might be heading over here."
Sasuke started to get excited. Finally, he had a chance to test his new skills after days of being undercover. Ko ran towards the wall a couple miles from the compound with Sasuke in toe not wanting to start a fight in the village. Ko knew it was Rin and someone else from her family chasing them; she hoped they wouldn't notice but luck wasn't on her side. They made it over the wall then was stopped by two figures standing in front of them.
Rin was standing closer to Ko with a smirk across her scarred face while a man stood a little bit further, his orange eyes glaring down at Ko. He had the same red-orange colored hair so he must be her brother. Sasuke looked over at Ko seeing that she didn't want to be there.
"Nice scar you got there." Rin commented making Ko clench her teeth and return a tight lipped smile.
Ko looked over at Sasuke seeing he was itching for a fight. Ko looked back over at the two siblings knowing they're ready for payback. "I'd say the same about your scorched one." Ko retorted crossing her arms.
Rin lunged towards Ko about to punch her but Sasuke jumped in front catching her fist. "Get out of the way, this doesn't involve you." Rin spat at Sasuke jumping back to her sibling.
"He's been wanting to fight someone for a few days and you did attempt to injure his sensei sooo it does involve him." Ko explained now putting her arms behind her back indicating they were no threat to her.
"Fine, my brother Kiyo can keep him entertained." Rin smirked turning to her brother. The guy next to her walked forward with a smirk plastered on his face. "He's a Chuunin, he'll finish your friend easily."
"Hmph doubt it." Sasuke smirked eyeing down his new opponent. He dashed towards Kiyo leading him away from the girls putting some distance between them.
"So, how'd you know it was me?" Ko questioned taking out a kunai.
Rin ignored the question and started by throwing shuriken which Ko easily deflected with her kunai. Rin lunged towards Ko while she was distracted with the shuriken then went to punch Ko. Ko dodged her punch along with her other attacks not given a chance to retalitate. Rin's speed improved much better than Ko's.
"Damn I don't have a chance to land a hit on her. If it wasn't for my eyes, she would've landed a hit."
"I've been training for this day and judging by your surprise, I've improved enough to face you." Rin said between each attack.
Rin's speed finally caught up with Ko landing a kick to her side making her slide on the ground. Rin ran towards the fallen Ko kicking her while she was down as hard as she could. Ko managed to grab her foot causing her to trip. Despite her recent injuries, Ko quickly got up towering over Rin. Ko back flipped away from her enemy weaving hand signs.
"Fire style: Flame killing Boundaries!" Ko shouted.
Rin watched as bits of fire spewed from Ko's mouth coming right for her. Rin dodged each fireball with grace as if it were child's play. "Water style: Raging waves!" She shouted as she brought her fingers to her lips.
"Haven't you learned from the last time?" Ko questioned as the feeling of deja vu washed over her. Water started to come out of Rin's mouth heading towards Ko who once again made her own signs. "Earth style, rock shield!" Ko shouted as she slammed her hands to the ground.
The ground began to shake as a slab of rock emerged quickly in front of Ko blocking the water from hurting her. Ko learned from her mistake and put more chakra into the wall making sure it didn't break again. The water stopped but Ko felt like something wasn't right. She canceled the jutsu only seeing Rin standing there. Ko's eyes widened as she threw a kunai at Rin who disappeared.
"Damn, it was a clone."
Ko looked around for the real Rin but even with her eyes, she couldn't see anyone except for the two boys fighting a mile away. Ko felt pain in the back of her leg making her fall to the ground. Finally she could see Rin rise from the ground behind her.
"I knew those eyes of yours had a weakness. I asked around the village to see if anyone knew of the secret and I found one person who knew. Pretty lucky if you ask me." She laughed as she looked down at Ko who was clutching her leg.
"You bitch!" Ko snapped glaring up at the Mist ninja making more hand signs. "Ninja art: Striking Shadow Snake!" She shouted throwing her arms up towards Rin as snakes emerged from her sleeves attacking Rin.
Adrenaline poured through Ko's body numbing the pain in her leg for now. She had to act fast taking advantage of the relief in her leg. She took out her sword and got to her feet while Rin took out her own sword killing the snakes in the process.
"Thought I'd learn this too just in case." She said with a smile. "I did learn from the few seven swordsmen too. They even gave me this special sword."
Ko lunged towards Rin tired of her talking wanting to end the battle quickly. Rin easily deflected her blade. The clink of metal on metal echoed through the forest as the two battled. Rin was able to land a hit on Ko's arm making her hiss in pain. They continued to battle landing a few hits on each other but Ko still felt like she was getting weaker by the minute. She was already out of breath within minutes.
"Feeling tired already Himura? Must be running low on chakra." Rin pointed out.
Ko knew she was right. She could feel her chakra draining which confused her until she noticed Rin's chakra has been increasing this whole time. "Your sword, it's draining my chakra and giving it to you."
"Ding ding ding, sucks to be you." Rin laughed once more weaving hand signs. "Water style: Hidden Mist jutsu!" Mist started to surround the two making Ko slowly panic. Her chakra is dangerously low making her deactivate her eyes in this crucial moment.
"I'm done for, she really has been preparing for this day." Ko attempted to sense for Rin but her sword had already slashed Ko's back making her scream out in pain followed by Rin's giggles. "No, I can't be weak once again. Why am I so weak?!"
"Water style: Storm Upheaval!" She heard Rin shouted.
Suddenly, a rush of water smacked Ko's body making her tumble in the vortex making it impossible to breath. Ko had no sense of direction at that point unable to process what had happened. It felt like hours for Ko but finally she was able to take a breath of air once the water died down. When she opened her eyes, she saw Rin standing above her with her sword high in the air. She brought it down stabbing Ko in the stomach making her gasp as blood spewed from her mouth. The blade started to suck away the remainder of Ko's chakra making her vision blurry.
"And now you die," Rin said taking out a kunai.
She brought it down about to stab Ko's neck making her squeeze her eyes shut but Rin was pushed to the ground. Ko opened her eyes looking up at a wounded Sasuke. Rin screamed in anger as she ran towards Sasuke but Ko used her last remaining chakra to send out chakra strings to her sword that was a few feet away. She wrapped it around the sword yanking it towards her stabbing Rin in her thigh. Rin screamed in agony as she fell to the ground watching the blood spurt from her leg. She tried to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding but it wouldn't stop.
"I-it hit the f-femoral artery...you'll bleed t-to death." Ko tried to say fighting to stay awake.
Sasuke knelt down next to Ko pulling out the sword which made her hiss in pain. "How did you let her do this to you?" He questioned.
"Sh-she was prepared...she knew m-my weaknesses. D-did you take c-care of Kiyo?"
Sasuke looked from Ko to Rin who was close to bleeding out to the direction he came in then back to Ko. "He's unconscious." He admitted.
"Sasuke! K-kill him." Ko scolded.
"I only want to kill one man and Kiyo wasn't him."
Ko rolled her eyes then looked over to where Rin was. She couldn't see well but she knew Rin was laying on the ground in her own puddle of blood; she finally died.
"B-bring his body to m-me. I'll do it."
Sasuke did as asked dragging the body to Ko and gave her a kunai. She grabbed it weakly stabbing Kiyo in the neck. Unfortunately for her, his blood splattered all over her body as he awoke gasping for air. Sasuke was stunned for a minute but recovered lifting Ko up in his arms bridal style. He knew she was losing blood fast and her chakra was dangerously low; she needed help. He ran out of the village running onto the water until he reached one of the small islands.
He sat Ko down leaning against a tree and knelt down next to her. He put his hand on her shoulder transferring his chakra to her. Ko could feel nothing but pain on her body but felt a little stronger as Sasuke's chakra coursed through her body. Once she felt strong enough, she started to heal the wound in her stomach. She could only heal it partially but at least it stopped the bleeding.
"Save your chakra, just go home."
Sasuke carried Ko back to the hideout as fast as he could making it within two days. Ko said she was fine on the second day but Sasuke still insisted on carrying her the rest of the way. Once they reached the hideout, Sasuke brought her straight to Kabuto's room.
"Ah so you're back?" Kabuto said acting surprised.
"Shut up and look me over." Ko demanded once Sasuke put her on the bed.
Kabuto rolled his eyes but complied. His hands started to glow green, at first he examined her wounds then started to heal the major wounds. "Couldn't you have done it yourself?"
"No because my chakra was almost completely drained." Ko snapped feeling irritated.
"Touchy today aren't you?" Kabuto said with a smirk.
"I'm going to report to Orochimaru," Sasuke said not wanting to be there.
Ko nodded starting to feel nervous about how Orochimaru will react to them being back. Kabuto took his time healing her but finally he finished. Ko walked back to her room laying on her bed trying to relax but was interrupted when there was a knock on her door. She got up and opened it revealing Orochimaru which made her heart sink.
"Now tell me why you took Sasuke out of the hideout?" He questioned stepping into her room making her step back as fear flooded her mind.
"Sasuke should've explained it," Ko told him putting on her mask not wanting to show her fear.
"I sent him away before he could say anything, I want to hear it from you." He stepped closer towering over his daughter.
"H-he wanted to see if he improved s-so I sent him on an undercover mission. I taught him how to avoid suspicion which he hardly knew how to do." Her heart was beating a mile a minute. She had never felt so much fear in her life until this moment. His figure over her looking down at her with his snake eye filled with fury making her eyes widen.
"Where did you go?" He questioned stepping towards her again making her back up and fall onto her bed.
"T-the Land of Earth."
"Liar!" Orochimaru shouted slapping her face making her head jerk to the left. She was frozen. "I know you went to the Mist Village. Now what did you bring me from your trip?" Ko still kept her head to the left not wanting to look at him but he grabbed her chin forcing her to face him.
"B-books and a scroll on my clan." She admitted trembling under his gaze.
"That's what I thought." He reached out grabbing the front of her shirt lifting her up to his face. "How rebellious you are becoming my dear." Ko started to shake in fear. Orochimaru was letting off a dark aura showing her his power which intimidated her. "Don't be afraid Ko, I wouldn't hurt you...that bad." He chuckled throwing her onto the floor then strolled out of her room.
Ko stayed on the floor staring at the door scared he would come back. She was reminded of her childhood while in the Sound. If she did something wrong she would get punished just like that; but it was never her Father. What she did was so terrible that he hit her himself instead of one of his followers.
Once she got the courage, she got up off the floor to look in the mirror. Her cheek was starting to turn red and could see slight bruising starting to appear on her chin. As always, her eyes shifted to the scar on her face making her shut her eyes tightly fighting back her tears not wanting to look in the mirror ever again.