Chapter 55: An Attempt at Empathy
A/N: I do not own the Naruto Franchise!
I do however own Mari Kaede and any other OCs mentioned.
Warnings: Contains dark themes, such as depression, murder, experimentation, emotional, mental and physical torture, possible attempted suicide and mentions of sexual activities!
At this point, I also want to point out that the relationship between these two characters is actually toxic if you are in a similar situation please seek help, it is not healthy and it won't end the same way this story will end.
I do not condone these kinds of relationships, despite writing this story.
Hey guys, look who's brought out a new chapter! Honestly, I really struggled to get the wording on this one right, but I think it came out pretty well, regardless.
The next chapter might take longer than usual, because I've got to plan the next five chapters out before I can continue writing the story! I hope you don't mind the wait.
Anyway, enjoy the story!
It had been a year and eight months since Sasuke joined Otogakure in search of power, all so he can end the man that killed his clan, his family, in cold blood. At that moment, he was stood within the training halls of Orochimaru's darkened hideout, skidding to a halt as he jumped back, dodging yet another aggressive snake as it lunged for his throat. This was a regular occurrence in the fourteen-year-old's schedule, and he would be a fool to deny that he had become quite the adept shinobi thanks to the Sannin's expert teachings.
In fact, he was able to shape his Chidori into anything he desired now, something that would normally take many years of Chakra control training to accomplish. Instead, it had only been six months since he started practicing the technique, and with frequent life-or-death sparring sessions and endless amounts of dangerous missions, he had mastered it in about a fifth of the time.
"Careful, Uchiha Brat!" Kaede called out as she sat against the stone wall near the doorway into the halls. She had arrived fifteen minutes prior to begin her own training, but since the space was occupied, she decided to sit back and watch the show. "You're going t'get your ass handed to you if y'don't keep your head in the game!"
Sasuke snapped his eyes over to her, shooting her an irritated glare with his blood-red Sharingan on display. Her comments were not making it any easier to focus. And, as if fate heard his silent musings, the wind changed in front of him, forcing him to turn back with a gasp as Orochimaru filled his vision, before punching him hard in the cheek with a pale white fist. The young prodigy was sent hurtling back and bounced off the stone floor a few times before he rolled to a stop near Kaede, who hissed, grinning down at him as he pushed himself onto his knees and spat up a small sliver of blood.
"Oof..." She grunted, though the mirth in her eyes told him she did not truly feel his pain but relished in it instead. "I saw that coming a mile away!"
"It'd be much easier if you didn't stick your nose in where it's not wanted." Sasuke ground out, wiping his bloodied mouth as he got to his feet and dusted off the purple fabric wrapped around his waist and secured with a lilac rope belt.
"Heh, you're just jealous that I saw it coming and you didn't~!"
Sasuke would have rebuked, but Orochimaru's deep laughter cut him off as he opened his mouth to retort. Instead, both his subordinates turned and gave him their undivided attention. "Your jutsu was excellent, Sasuke-kun..." He started, cracking his knuckles to remove the stress brought on by the hard punch he had delivered. "However, you're lack-luster form and overconfidence was your downfall, you must keep your mind focused and body protected to outsmart and out-maneuver your opponents."
"Yep!" Kaede chimed in as she scrambled to her feet and stretched her arms over her head. "Or you'll end up facedown in the dirt with nothing to show for your effort!" She dropped her arms and shrugged. "Or dead, depends on what kind of person you're fighting!"
"If it is the person who you wish to kill, then Itachi-kun will easily overpower your weak tactics."
Sasuke shot the two of them hard glares, he hated them both, Orochimaru for quite obvious reasons, while he hated Kaede because she had failed in the goal he sought for himself. What kind of ninja gave up on their ambitions when things became a challenge? She was weak, and he hated that she believed otherwise.
"Right, I'm done waiting!" The redheaded kunoichi said, rolling her shoulders in preparation for her training. "You've hogged this place for long enough! I was supposed t'start my training fifteen minutes ago, and I ain't wasting another second just sitting around."
"Oh, I don't remember putting time aside to train you, Firecracker?" Orochimaru teased, smirking when she huffed and grinned at him, hand planted firmly on her hip, while his own stroked at his chin, his other hand keeping his elbow comfortable. "However, if you truly wish to train, you could join Sasuke in a two-on-one battle against me, hm?" His dark chuckle echoed through the room at the thought of her fighting side-by-side with his best student. "If you think you can win, that is?"
Kaede laughed at his obvious taunt, then kicked off her sandals, tossing them against the wall where she had sat against a moment ago. "Nah, you've already kicked Sasuke's ass today, I don't want t'make him feel worse by kicking your ass for him!"
Suddenly, Sasuke was in front of her, and thanks to his frequent growth spurts, he now stood tall, looking down at her with angry black eyes. "Don't underestimate me..." He said, venom dripping from his already cold voice. "Unless you want me to show you just how much I've improved over the last year and a half."
This made Orochimaru hum as he walked towards them. "Perhaps we can temper the flames of battle a little, hm?" He suggested, then shrugged a shoulder in his usual exaggerated manner. "Of course, if you truly wish to bloody my floors with your petty squabbles, I propose we turn this into a lesson."
Kaede arched a brow. "Oh yeah, what d'you have in mind?" Sasuke's challenge rung in her mind, he really thought he would be able to defeat her, and part of her wanted to make him eat those words, along with a wind-enhanced fireball.
"How about we add a twist to this two-on-one spar?" Orochimaru's sharp fangs poked out of his bottom lip as they opened into a sickeningly devious grin. "Sasuke-kun obviously believes he is capable of taking you on, so I propose we challenge his resolve." He crossed his arms, looking from the angered teen to the relaxed Jounin. "You will focus on Ninjutsu, while I pile on the pressure with Taijutsu." His shoulders shook with his amusement, he looked forward to seeing how much Sasuke had learned, and how he faired against his best fighter. "Let's see how many of my lessons have been engraved into that stubborn mind of yours."
Of course, he doubted Sasuke could pale in comparison with his own strength, he was merely feeding the flames to ignite a spectacle he would be a fool to miss.
The Uchiha prodigy nodded, clasping the hilt of his sword. "Fine."
"I look forward to seeing your progress."
The two glanced at the female ninja, waiting for her response. She merely grinned as her cocoa-brown eyes darkened devilishly. "Alright, I'll bite..." She said simply as she unclasped her robe and tossed it against the wall, where it landed atop her sandals. "I can't wait t'wipe that smug look off your face, brat!"
"Ditto." The black-haired, newly appointed Chuunin, retorted.
The three got into position, Orochimaru stood by Kaede's side, while the two remained a fair distance from Sasuke himself. Silence stretched through the area, while the three waited patiently for the other side to make the first move. It was not long before the less than patient redhead dropped into a crouch and formed a few hand signs, while her Sannin companion rushed towards his best student, who pulled his sword from its sheath.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" She called out, disappearing in a puff of smoke as Orochimaru dropped a kunai from his tight sleeve, swinging it at Sasuke, who blocked with his far longer, yet thinner blade. From the plumes, three of the boisterous woman rushed into the fray, all of them jumping into the air with their hands positioned around their mouths. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"
Immediately after their synchronized calls, three large fireballs were sent hurtling at Sasuke, who hissed and pushed Orochimaru hard enough to cause him to stagger, all so he could jump backward and avoid the flames. Thankfully, the Sannin himself was able to melt into the floor and as the last hair on his head vanished from sight, the fireballs broke the surface and spread across the stone floor, leaving a series of large scorch marks on the cobbled ground.
Sasuke skidded to a halt a few feet away and formed his own hand seals, while Orochimaru remained hidden, and Kaede's clones vanished from sight, leaving her to land on the ground, already in a fighting stance. "Chidori!" The Uchiha boy snarled, holding his wrist as his open palm sparked and faded within a ball of electrical energy that covered his digits, chirping like birds as they scattered around his limb with rapid aggression.
He dropped said hand by his side and ran at the redhead, leaving a deep groove in the ground. However, before Sasuke could do anything to Kaede, a large snake wrapped around his charged arm, yanking him backward, effectively breaking his concentration, and therefore the jutsu itself. Orochimaru, who had appeared against the back wall, pulled Sasuke to one side of the large open space, before throwing him hard against the opposite wall, where the prodigy collided with the vertical surface. Cracking through the stone, leaving a cloud of dust and debris in his wake.
Kaede shot her sparring partner a grin, and he smirked as his snake summon slithered back into his black sleeve. They stood, waiting for Sasuke to re-emerge when suddenly he burst from the smoky debris and lunged straight for Orochimaru, his blade poised for the kill.
"Katon: Kasai Suīpu!"
Before the teen could pierce the man's empty heart, a plume of fire filled the space between the two, forcing the boy to grunt and cover his face with his arms as he vanished into the flames. While Orochimaru barely moved an inch, his hair swaying with the disturbance in the air, proving it was a living being, and not an overly-confident statue, glaring down at the Chuunin who had been engulfed in the blaze.
The Ninjutsu expert stopped exhaling her flames as she heard Sasuke's pained cries, and jumped into the air, knowing full well he would come after her next. And damn, she was right. Just like he had in the smoke, the young Chuunin escaped the flames with a hard jump and followed her up into the air, in front of the three-headed snake statue that was an apparent centerpiece in all of Orochimaru's hideouts.
Sasuke swung his blade at Kaede, and she tilted backward in the air, using her descent to her advantage to avoid the blow. She then kicked it from his hands, but he was not having any of it, as he did a flip and slammed his foot into her ribs. There was an audible crack, and the redhead coughed up blood before she plummetted down, breaking through the cobbled floor, leaving a crater in her wake as another cloud surrounded her form, hiding her from view.
The black-haired boy landed beside the crater and caught his blade as it fell, pointing it towards her as he got to his feet, breathing heavily from her brutal assault.
"Over here, brat~!"
Sasuke clicked his tongue and turned to the voice. Kaede stood in front of him, a small distance away, with her hands resting on the final sign of her newest jutsu. "Futon: Senkai Hari Danmaku!"
He was quick to bring up his sword, prepared for whatever she threw at him as he watched her inhale deeply. However, suddenly she stiffened up before letting out a heavy grunt as she grasped the left side of her chest in her hand. As she doubled over from the pain of the broken rib he had inflicted upon her, the young prodigy quickly kicked off towards her, readying his blade for the final strike.
"Tch!" Kaede hissed out, falling backward to avoid his blade, only to kick him into the air once his form was positioned directly above her limbo-like position. "I ain't going down that fast, y'asshole!" She kicked off into the air, grabbing a kunai from a pouch she wore around her waist when she was not wearing her robe, which she twirled on her finger before she grasped it tightly by the hilt.
But in a split second, the Uchiha boy spun in the air with filled cheeks, and she gasped as she saw his hands stop at the sign of the Tiger. "Shi-!" She started, only to cross her arms in front of her face as a large fireball was sent barrelling towards her, submerging her in its intense flames. Pain flooded through each of her nerves, her skin peeling from the heat as a scream left her injured lungs.
While she had powerful flames, his were quickly catching up in their intensity, and she feared the day that young Uchiha Sasuke would surpass her own skills.
That thought made Kaede grind her teeth, her sharp fang glinting in the flickering flames as she took in deep lungfuls of the searing heat, ignoring the burning in her throat and the stabbing pain in her chest. "Futon: Daitoppa!" Without a second thought, she blew out large gusts of wind against the fireball prison around her, which caused its heat and painful intensity to double, before it was sent across the battlefield like a wave, which Sasuke only just managed to dodge, while Orochimaru merely jumped into the air, landing atop the snake statue's middle head as he became a spectator to their fight.
Kaede stood in the middle of the field, the only clear patch of stone left among a scorched room. She was bleeding, her skin cracking and splitting from the burns she had endured, but aglow with her rage, while her eyes shone with determination. If she had faced anyone else, they would have frozen in fear, her bloodlust mirrored Orochimaru's own in the midst of a life-or-death battle, and she was merely sparring.
Only the Hokage and Orochimaru himself had ever seen such a dangerous, unhinged glimmer in her eyes, and one of them had died with that look firmly engraved in his mind.
She was a firecracker alright, only no one knew how long her fuse was, and when the flames of her anger would eventually reach the end.
"You've done it now..." She snarled, dropping her kunai as she ignored her painful injuries. "Katon..." The woman's blistered hands clasped together as she formed the seals needed for a jutsu Orochimaru had never seen, one that made his eyes widen with glee as he licked his white lips. "Moeru Hari Danmaku!"
The agonized older woman breathed out a large gust of wind, which confused Sasuke as he stagged back and gripped the hilt of his sword a little tighter. The winds rushed around them, and he raised his arm to shield his face as they hit hard enough to whip his hair around wildly. Suddenly, Kaede clapped her hands together as the winds moved closer, whirling around her faster and faster as she pressed her feet hard into the stone beneath them in an attempt to stop herself from being carried away by her own aggression.
Suddenly, the winds took on a sharp, almost solid shape, turning into small needles, much like the ones Konoha's own shinobi, Genma, was known for specializing in. Kaede's gritted teeth twisted into a vicious grin as she took another deep breath, before letting out a plume of hot flames, which surrounded the needles. With a grunt, she linked her hands and pressed them together as hard as she could, and the flames clung to the needles, surrounding them in a searing heat that would cut through flesh like a knife through melting butter.
"You sure you can beat me now, Brat?" She snarled, laughing as she thrust her arms out to the side, sending the barrage of dangerous needles directly towards Sasuke, whose two dotted Sharingan could barely keep up with their movements. "Don't underestimate me, I ain't about t'lose a fight after I've come so far!"
However, her needles never hit, as Orochimaru appeared in front of Sasuke with merely a flicker warning her of his arrival. With a gasp, Kaede quickly released the Chakra she was using to control the jutsu, and they dissapated in the air just before they could come in contact with Orochimaru's pale nose. He was just as unphased then as he was when her flames rushed past him and engulfed his student.
Silence filled the area, the only sounds heard were the labored breaths of Sasuke and Kaede, who were both injured greatly in their spar that turned fatal. Orochimaru was almost completely unharmed, and his eyes danced with amusement and intrigue. His best fighter had been working on a new jutsu without his knowledge, while his prodigal student was slowly but surely reaching her dangerous level. If he had not intervened, they would have likely killed each other in their attempt to prove their superiority over the other.
"Orochi-sama?" The redhead finally piped up, pulling him from his thoughts.
Without acknowledging her, he turned to the Chuunin behind him with a smirk. "Well done, Sasuke-kun...I believe the training ends here. Your life is far too important to be lost in a spar."
"I wasn't going to lose," Sasuke stated, shooting the pair a glare as the Sannin merely laughed.
"Kaede's temper is not to be tested." He said, glancing back at the woman over his shoulder, through his long black hair. "She is a flame that can quickly burn out of control should you try to extinguish it...You're not ready to take her on without interruption."
The black-haired teen clicked his tongue, his eyes fading from blood-red pools into inky black depths. Without a word, he sheathed his sword and stormed out of the room, ignoring his teacher and his unruly pet. It was obvious that the loss had stung him, but Orochimaru did not care.
He was not ready to lose his greatest pawn, nor the vessel he worked hard to acquire.
As soon as Sasuke was out of the room and his footsteps faded away, Kaede grunted and dropped to her knees, gripping her chest tightly in one hand. The Sannin turned his head to her and looked down at her twisted, pained expression, before he smirked and walked over. "Hm, hm, perhaps Sasuke was the victor after all~?" He teased, grasping her arm and pulling her up to lean against his side as he draped said arm over his shoulder. "Your injuries are far more severe than his had been."
"Heh, that's 'cause you've got that kid on some insane training schedule!" She ground out, coughing as she forced a grin on her lips. "What're y'teaching that kid?!"
The sinister shinobi chuckled. "The same thing I have been teaching you, though his development is far superior to your's, thanks to his youth and the Sharingan his clan possessed."
"No kidding." She hissed as they reached a corner and turned towards Kabuto's lab. "But don't think he's got what it takes to knock me down...I was going easy on him, 'cause I knew breaking a few of his bones would put a stop to your plans for a little while, and we can't have that, can we?"
"Hm, hm, how kind of you~."
She laughed, dropping her head as she looked down at her burnt skin and bleeding wounds. He had done a number on her, she had to admit. "Don't get used to it, I ain't taking it easy on him anymore. That kid's going t'pay for leaving me like this!"
"Then perhaps you should assist in our training more often, hm?"
This made the woman pause for a second, and she looked up at him, confusion swirling in her tired cocoa brown eyes. "Eh? Y'want me to train him with you?" She snickered. "I knew y'were losing your edge, Orochi-sama, but I never expected y'to admit y'need my help!"
This made the Sannin's sinister snicker echo through the halls, his shoulders shaking as they neared the lab. "Don't misunderstand. I merely believe having an opponent willing to cause him serious harm would increase the speed of his advancements, thus allowing me to retain my own strength once the transfer takes place."
Kaede opened her mouth to make a joke about how his strength waned after he switched bodies, only to freeze as she stared ahead. Orochimaru was forced to stop alongside her, and with a curious hum, his eyes left her own and followed their path. At the end of the corridor, Henrei stood, glaring at them with the Otgakure forehead protector glinting in the candlelight.
Without a word, the boy scoffed and turned, storming out of sight. Once he was gone, the woman exhaled, relaxing against her leader's side.
This intrigued the Snake Shinobi and his black brow arched with an elegance most would kill to achieve. He knew Kaede saw herself in Henrei and to see the effect his hatred had against her, made the Sannin feel...uncomfortable, with her guilt.
Of course, he would not admit that her discomfort caused him any sort of emotion. After all, she knew what her actions would entail when she let go of her revenge to serve him with her life. He merely thought it would negatively affect their future missions if she had to concern herself with the boy's frequent death threats at all times.
That was when an idea struck him like lightning and he smirked.
"Perhaps you should include Henrei in your next training exercise, hm?" The Sannin started, his smirk only widening when she snapped her eyes back to him with dumbfounded confusion. He bit back his laughter, shrugging the shoulder where her arm rested as he continued to escort her to their best medic, rounding another corner.
"Are y'trying to torture me?" Kaede asked, which only fueled his amusement.
"I don't know what you're talking about, dear Firecracker." His tone was light, almost tauntingly so. "I merely thought you could use the opportunity to empathize with him, effectively warming him up to the idea of working for me."
The redhead's eyes narrowed as her brows knitted together. "D'you even know what empathy is?"
The Sannin hummed, lowering his head a little as he shook it with disbelief. "Of course." He stated simply, raising his head once again, lips twisted back in a sinister smirk. Seeing him like that made it hard for Kaede to believe his words.
"Mmhm...Sure y'do."
"Hm? Do you truly believe I would be so cold that I couldn't feel empathy?" Orochimaru arched a brow, and Kaede tried to fight the urge to blurt out a 'yes.' "If I lacked empathy, many of the people roaming these corridors would be dead...I believe that includes you, Kaede-chan~."
That made her huff with laughter as she dropped her head and shook it, much like he had a moment ago. "Heh, I knew y'were going soft! What kind of evil mastermind empathizes with someone like me?"
"An 'evil mastermind' that knew you would only accept your place among my ranks if you felt..." He gestured vaguely as he searched his mind for the right word. "Safe. Empathy is just another tool to gain control."
His words struck a nerve in her heart, and for a split second, she felt a twinge of pain at his blunt honesty. She knew she was a tool, that he did what he did to control her, but hearing it made it all the more real. However, instead of showing this pain, she merely shrugged it off with a well-placed insult. "Hah! You're the last person I feel safe with!"
"Oh? Shall I tell you how many times I've saved your life? Perhaps your definition of the word 'safe' is different from mine?"
Kaede snickered. "Nah, I just know the difference between 'safe' and 'stranded!" She looked him dead in the eyes, her own alight with her usual fire. "'Safe' is when y'trust a person with not just your life, but your heart as well! Stranded is when y'aint got nowhere else t'go, so you're stuck working for someone y'don't like!" She teased. Y'might think I'm losing my mind, Snake-Eyes, but I'm sharper than y'give me credit for!"
His yellow eyes scanned her bold features curiously. He could sense a lie in her words, if she disliked him, she would have never laid in his bed. Though he knew better than to believe she would be foolish enough to do anything more than tolerate his presence. "Hm, hm, perhaps~."
The topic was veering off course, which he knew was her plan, as she detested the idea of training Henrei. However, his plans took priority over her comfort, and he knew better than to let her weak-witted banter direct his intended meaning.
Perhaps it was time for him to use 'empathy' to convince his precious flame to comply with his will.
"Henrei's skills have yet to be cultivated, and until he begins his training towards becoming a Shinobi, he is of no use to me." His smirk fell and he spoke in a tone that sent chills down the woman's spine. It was so cold and detached compared to their light banter. She could feel the lack of care in his words, and the young boy in their grasp. "And if that were the case, his only saving attribute would be as an experiment..."
Their gazes met, and in the irises of her former enemy, Kaede felt his words in a different sense. Though his tone was that of the heartless killer she had first met a decade ago, there was something in his eyes that she could not quite put her finger on. Something she had only seen a few times in the past ten years.
It was almost as if he was...giving her the option, rather than telling her what to do.
This made the redhead huff out a breath as she dropped her gaze again, watching her feet as they finally resumed their trip to the lab. It was odd to be given so much freedom after she had sought it for so long, she never knew having a choice would be just as freeing as sitting outside by the lake during a full moon with a good book.
With a shrug she lifted her head as they neared the lab, where Kabuto was stood, talking to Sasuke briefly before the now-healed prodigy walked away and out of side around a corner. "I guess I can give him a couple of pointers!" She finally stated, much to the Sannin's amusement. "But with every threat he throws at me, I'm going t'kick your ass twice as hard!"
"Maybe Sasuke's blows had injured your head, rather than your ribs, hm~?"
"Hah! You wish! I'm still as sane and annoying as I was this morning!"
"While I question the 'sane' part of your statement, I can agree with the second half."
With their conversation easing the thick tension in the air, Kaede was helped into Kabuto's lab, where she was healed of her injuries. By the end of the day, she was fit and healthy, with only bandages and bandaids to prove she was ever in a fight, to begin with.
All the while, Orochimaru's suggestion played on her mind.
Maybe if she got to know Henrei a little better, she would be able to help him get his life back on track. After all, it was her fault his entire world came crashing down in the first place.
It was the least she could do.
~BHBL~
A week came and went in a flash, and during that time, Henrei had been given small tasks around the long, winding corridors of Otogakure. They were menial tasks, such as lighting the many candles adorning the walls or delivering meals to the busy shinobi scouring the halls between missions. However, it was still hard and tiring work.
He hated it here, he wanted to get out and find a village that would listen to his story and finally bring justice to the people who had ruined his life. But because he lacked any knowledge in the ways of the ninja, he knew he would not ever get past the many guards protecting the sinister snake residing inside.
His only saving thought, one that stopped his sanity from snapping like a fragile thread, was that he was assigned to begin training that very moment. Therefore, he stood in the center of the expansive training hall, which had been semi-rebuilt, awaiting the arrival of his teacher, a person who would unknowingly help him towards the revenge he so desired.
"Wow, you're early!"
Suddenly his body froze as an icy chill trickled down his rigid spine. He knew that voice, that deep, yet slightly scratchy, voice anywhere. Slowly, the tormented young boy turned and locked eyes with Mari Kaede, who stood in the doorway of the large room, leaning against the doorframe as she saluted, a casual greeting for someone so heartless. "Hey kid, long time no see, huh?"
Henrei bristled, glaring at her as she pushed off from her comfortable spot against the wooden frame and sauntered towards him as if taunting his broken, empty soul with her mere presence. "What do you want?" He sneered, spitting his words like the venom of a cobra.
Kaede arched a brow as she stopped a short distance from the seething young lad, her arms crossed as she looked down at his small, angry form. "What d'you mean? Didn't anyone tell y'that I was your teacher?" He scoffed at her words and shoved past her. "Hey, where d'you think you're going?!"
The boy stopped near the exit, shooting a 'menacing' glare at her over his small shoulder. "Away from you. I'd rather die than learn Ninjutsu from a killer."
His words stung, but she bit back her desire to retort. His words rung true, after all, she was a killer, and she knew better than to deny it. No matter her reasons, she had taken lives, and she would forever carry that burden. "Yeah, I'm a killer." She admitted, shrugging a shoulder as the boy turned back to her, angered by her nonchalance. "But so is everyone else here." She gestured to the doorway. "So go ahead, but don't come crying t'me when Orochimaru decides y'ain't useful anymore."
Henrei's glare washed away with confusion. "What do you mean?"
Kaede looked away, and though she acted like the conversation was not affecting her, she felt her heart sink as she explained. "You're only being kept alive 'cause y'have potential as a shinobi." She met his gaze, her eyes alight with honesty, which she knew he saw, no matter how much he tried to deny it. "But if y'don't start learning Ninjutsu soon, Orochimaru's going t'stop seeing that potential, and'll make y'an experiment instead."
"Tch, I'm not scared of him!" Henrei barked back, and Kaede's blank frown twisted with a pain he could not understand.
"Oh yeah?" The rustling of fabric echoed through the room as the redhead undid her robe and shrugged out of it, tossing it to the side. However, she did not return her eyes to his, instead, she closed them as she heard his breathing hitch in his shock.
She was littered head-to-toe in scars, some uneven and warped from burns, while others were methodical, made by a scalpel and a careful, expert hand. "Y'really want t'be an experient, Henrei?" She asked, finally turning her head back to his, her suffering evident in her expression as her lips twisted into a dry, humorless grin. "Heh, you've got no idea what you're in for if y'don't follow his orders..."
The boy stared at her in horror as she took a deep breath and scooped up her robe, tossing on her shoulders without tying it back in place. Instead, she relaxed her posture and placed a hand on her hip with a light huff. "If y'don't want my help, then that's fine, but I'd give it some thought, otherwise this place'll eat you up and spit y'out...And trust me, it ain't a fun experience."
With that, she walked past him and out of the room, leaving the ball in his court. She could not force him to accept her help, nor could she change how much he hated her.
But the sooner he saw that she was the lesser of two evils, the sooner he could find his own way in the world, without succumbing to the numbing void revenge brought about.
"Wait!"
The redhead faltered as she went to take another step. Her frown lifted into a silent smirk, and she turned to look at the hesitant boy standing in the doorway of the training hall.
He gritted his teeth, turmoil apparent in his features as he finally came to a decision. His eyes averted as he spat the words he never wanted to utter. "Fine, I'll let y'train me, but mark my words..." His eyes locked onto hers, and she felt the cold, murderous desire she once held towards Orochimaru, directed at her. "I'm only doing this 'cause I know training with you will tell me your weaknesses..." His teeth glittered in the candlelight as he snarled venomously. "And I will use that to kill you!"
Kaede huffed out a laugh, lowering her head as her hair covered her eyes. She stayed silent for a moment before she lifted her chin and shot him a confident smirk. "Sure y'will, kid." She sneered back, walking back into the hall as she tossed her robe to the side, thankfully for a different reason this time. "Keep telling yourself that."
She would do whatever it took to ensure his survival, even if it meant revealing her weaknesses to him. He could hate her all he liked, but as long as she was training him, he was safe from the experiments that not only broke her body but her spirit as well.
Maybe someday, he'd see that for himself.
Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, a shadow peered from its hiding place, familiar yellow eyes wide and veiny as the Otokage watched their conversation unfold right in front of him. While Kaede had not used empathy for his situation to change his perspective, even a little, she had succeeded either way.
He could not wait to see what other events would unfold now that Henrei was forced to train with the person he hated most.
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review, your comments and criticism help me be a better writer, and I love hearing from you!
Japanese = English
Futon: Daitoppa = Wid Release: Great Breakthrough
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu = Fire Release: Great Fireball Techinique
Chidori = One Thousand Birds
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu = Shadow Clone Technique
Katon: Kasai Suīpu = Fire Release: Fire Sweep
Futon: Senkai Hari Danmaku = Wind Release: Swirling Needle Barrage
Katon: Moeru Hari Danmaku = Fire Release Burning Needle Barrage
Otokage = Sound Shadow
Otogakure = Hidden Sound Village
Shinobi = Male Ninja
Kunoichi = Female Ninja
Chuunin = Mid-level Ninja
Jounin = Expert Ninja
-sama = Lord