Part III
"He's never gonna make it,
All the poor people he's forsaken.
Karma is always gonna chase him for his life,"
Outrunning Karma, Alec Benjamin
Chapter Twenty One
Miyako kept her face blank as she meet the golden gaze of Orochimaru. Her and Sasuke and just arrived. It's been one week since they left the village, and now they were face to face with Orochimaru. The only one to survive the trip. It had been harder to escape Konohagakure than the duo had anticipated, but they made it and Orochimaru sat there like a cat that ate the sparrow.
"Shinjitsu Miyako-chan, what a pleasant surprise," Orochimaru hissed out, a grin on his pale face. Next to him, Yakushi Kabuto stood, a neutral look on his face that only flicked for a split second at the mention of Miyako's clan name. "What brings you here?"
"Sasuke," Miyako replied, narrowing her blue eyes at the man and teen before her. "I made a promise to look after him, and I intend to keep it. Even if it means leaving my village."
Orochimaru's grin widened. "Well of course you're welcome here. Assuming that you are willing to work for me for as long as Sasuke-kun is here."
Miyako took a quick glance at Sasuke before nodding. Sasuke, who stood next to her, had looked at her nervously in that split-second glance, covering up his feelings. The look, however, didn't go unnoticed by Miyako, Orochimaru, and Kabuto.
"When does my training start?" Sasuke questioned, eager to start the training that will lead to brothers demise and the ultimate vengeance for his clan.
"Soon enough, young Sasuke-kun. For now, Kabuto will show you two to your rooms so you can settle in and rest up from your long trip," Orochimaru state. "Make sure they are put next to each other," Orochimaru added, looking at Kabuto, who nodded, silver hair falling in front of his black eyes.
"Follow me, Sasuke-kun. Miyako-chan," Kabuto stated and both Miyako and Sasuke frowned at the use of the honorifics but said nothing as they followed Kabuto out of the room and through the underground base. "This place is built like a maze. It makes it harder for intruders to get in or out. Be sure to memories the ways between your rooms, my room, Orochimaru-sama's room, the kitchen, and training rooms."
Kabuto explained more about the base the further along they went until the trio stopped in front of two identical, wooden doors. Kabuto gestured to a door opposite of the two doors, also wooden. "The bathroom. You two can choose which rooms you want out of these two. If you don't mind, I must return to Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto bowed before leaving and Miyako and Sasuke stayed silent until he was gone.
"I take the room on the left and you take the one on the right?" Miyako suggested and Sasuke nodded with a grunt, before he walked to the door and opened it, peering into the room.
Miyako looked into the room as well and saw a room with only a bed, a bedside table, a chest of drawers, and a bookshelf. Sasuke wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was glad that the older teen was here with him. Even if it were to keep an eye on him for unknown reasons.
Miyako went into her room and found it identical to Sasuke's.. She shut the door and put her bag on her new bed. She contemplated if it was worth unpacking but decided to and put her clothes in the chest of drawers, and the picture of her team on the bedside table. She shoved her bag under the bed before lying down, surprised to find that the bed was comfortable. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her.
...
Orochimaru was still grinning when Kabuto returned, making Kabuto frown. "Do you trust her?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "Not one bit. But it's obvious she's here to keep an eye out for Sasuke, as such, we should use her to our advantage while she's here. Who knows, she may end up being an even better investment than Sasuke."
Kabuto frowned at his masters words. He didn't like the idea of having Sasuke around, let alone Miyako. He wanted to have the attention of Orochimaru all to himself. He despised the idea of having other people to contend with then it comes to Orochimaru's attention. After all, Orochimaru will teach more of his secrets to his favourite, and Kabuto wanted that to be him. He had plans, and there was no way that two children would get in the way of those plans. He'll make sure of it.
...
The next day Miyako made her way to Sasuke's room. She knocked on the door and waited for Sasuke to open it. Soon Sasuke opened the door to reveal himself dressed for the day. He gestured for Miyako to enter and she did, noting that he hadn't added anything of interest to his room. Not even a picture of his team.
Miyako didn't comment on that little detail, but instead turned to face Sasuke, who stood by the now closed door, a frown on his face. "You know, training with Orochimaru won't be easy. I want you to be careful. Don't overwork yourself. It won't make you stronger if you do that," Miyako stated.
"Hn," Sasuke replied, accepting Miyako's words of wisdom. She was, after all, the only one he trusted in the world at the moment.
Miyako nodded just as there was a knock on the door. She walked over to the door, Sasuke stepping out her way, and opened it to reveal Kabuto. He frowned when noticed that both Sasuke and Miyako were in the same room, concerned that they were plotting against him and his master.
"Orochimaru-sama told me to show you two to the kitchen. He assumed that at least on of you could cook for yourselves," Kabuto stated and turned his back on the pair, heading down the hallway and not looking back to see if they were following him.
Miyako and Sasuke shared a quick look before quickly following Kabuto through the winding halls to a well-stocked, state-of-the-art kitchen. It was another thing Miyako was surprised about, but she said nothing, the only indication of her surprise was the slight widening of her eyes.
"I'll be back in two or so hours. Cook whatever you want," Kabuto stated and left, leaving Sasuke and Miyako alone once again.
"What do you think, Sasuke? Grilled fish, rice, miso soup, and an omelette for breakfast?" Miyako questioned as she started looking through the kitchen for everything she needs.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted with a nod, agreeing to her choice of breakfast. He would've preferred tomatoes and rice, but this would do.
"Good. You can help me by preparing the omelettes. Ok?" Miyako questioned and Sasuke nodded and started his job as Miyako prepared everything else.
An hour later and Sasuke and Miyako had just started eating when a girl with pink hair and silver eyes walked into the kitchen. Sasuke and Miyako paused I their eating to look at the girl, who looked at them in turn, lips pursed. It was silent for a few second before the girl grinned.
"I'm Hana. You two must be the new arrivals Kabuto has been complaining about," the girl stated and Miyako nodded.
"I'm Shinjitsu Miyako. This is Uchiha Sasuke," Miyako replied and Hana's eyes widened in surprise.
"A Shinjitsu and an Uchiha? The last of each clan I suspect. I'm a nobody. No clan name for me. But thanks to Orochimaru-sama's experiments I can breathe underwater," Hana explained like it was nothing.
"You willingly let Orochimaru experiment on you?" Miyako questioned in surprise and disgust.
Hana shrugged nonchalantly. "Didn't have much choice. I decided to go along with it. It made my life easier in the end." Her gaze flitted over to Sasuke. "You don't talk much, do you?"
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, making Hana grin.
"I see. What's that you have for breakfast?" Hana looked over their meal, making Miyako frown at the forwardness of the girl. "That's a lot. I couldn't eat the fish though. Hate fish. And tofu. Anyway, I'll let you two go back to eating. Nice meeting you." With that said, Hana made her way further into the kitchen and grabbed a tub of yogurt before leaving the room all together, making Sasuke and Miyako relax just slightly.
...
An hour later and Kabuto returned, leading the two ex-Konoha-nin through the tunnels and into a large, open room. "This is one of the training rooms in the base. Orochimaru-sama will be here soon. You may take the time to warm up. Got it? Good. I'm leaving." Kabuto walked out of the room, making Miyako grin.
"I have the feeling Kabuto-san doesn't like us," Miyako stated and Sasuke shrugged. He could care less of the four-eyed man liked him or not. He was here for one reason and one reason only, to become strong enough to kill his brother.
Sasuke moved to the centre of the room and started to do some light stretched. Though she wasn't getting trained by Orochimaru, Miyako joined in, giving Sasuke some pointed on how to make each stretch more effective. After a few minutes of that, the two went about doing some push-ups, sit-ups, and running around the room for cardio. Just as they were on their tenth minute of running, Orochimaru entered the room and cleared his throat.
"I see you are warming up too, Miyako-chan."
Miyako stopped what she was doing and turned to face Orochimaru. "I figured I should get some training in as well as Sasuke. Even if its not under your tutelage. I would like to stay at the top of my game."
Orochimaru chuckled, a sound that sent shivers up both Miyako's and Sasuke's spine, as Kabuto walked in the room. He had an annoyed look across his features as he was followed by Hana, who was grinning from ear to ear. Orochimaru gestured to the two. "I want to test both of you, to see what I have to work with. Who wants to go first?"
"Oh can I? I want to fight Sasuke-kun!" Hana announced in excitement, jumping up and down on the spot. "Please Orochimaru-sama? Pretty please with a sake on top?"
Orochimaru laughed. "Of course my dear Hana. Sasuke, go to the centre of the room and you two may begin your duel. You can use any weapon, jutsu, or technique you want. I want to see the full extent of your skills. Miyako-chan, will you please join Kabuto-kun and I over here? The last thing I want is for you to be in their way."
Miyako nodded stiffly and walked to stand beside the two men as Hana made he way to standing on the opposite side of the training room to Sasuke the three watched as the girl grinned before shooting forward. Sasuke dodged the attack without much difficulty and aimed a kick to the girls waist. She dodged his attack easily and the battle fully commenced.
Hana kept attacking Sasuke, and Sasuke kept counter-attacking Hana. Soon jutsu were flying everywhere, and Sasuke was using his Sharingan in the hopes of gaining an advantage against the young girl. It was half-an-hour later when Hana managed to knock Sasuke to the ground, pinning him with a kunai to his neck.
Orochimaru clapped in excitement. "Not bad, Sasuke-kun. Not bad at all. But we need to teach you how to use the curse mark and maybe another weapon. A katana perhaps? Hana, get off him. Kabuto-kun, you and Miyako-chan may now spar. Chop, chop. I have experiment to attend to after all."
Miyako frowned at this, but stood on the opposite end of the room, activating her kekkei genkai in the hopes it will give her an advantage against Kabuto. What she heard in his mind made her grin. He felt threatened by her and Sasuke's presence. She even heard glimpse of his plan for Orochimaru. If she told Orochimaru of this plan, she'd gain his favour. But she didn't want his favour. She was here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to protect Sasuke.
Miyako shot forward, surprising Kabuto. She pulled out a kunai and threw it, directing it at his heart. Kabuto easily dodged and charged at Miyako, his chakra scalpel burning on his palm. Miyako knew from training with Takeo what that jutsu was capable of, so she kept dodging his movements. This was made easier because she was reading his mind. She could see Kabuto getting more and more frustrated as his attacks didn't land, and he was starting to get sloppy. Soon, he made a fatal error, on that led Miyako pinning him to the ground, a senbon through his neck. Kabuto was knocked out.
Orochimaru cackled at this. "My, oh my, you are skilled young Miyako-chan. I can see why Itachi cared for you."
Miyako growled, yanking the senbon from Kabuto's neck and standing up to face the golden eyed man. "What do you know about my relationship with Itachi?"
"I know enough to know that he keeps a picture of you on his person at all times," Orochimaru stated, making Sasuke's onyx eyes widen in surprise as he looked between the two. "Tell me, Miyako-chan, is the promise you made to look after Sasuke given to his brother on the night of the massacre? Or was it when you were recently kidnapped by him and Hoshigaki Kisame?"
"Neither. The promise was made to myself on the night of the massacre, to honour my best friend Uchiha Hisoka," Miyako replied with a blank face, noting Sasuke was getting angrier and angrier at the mention his brother and the massacre. "Come on Sasuke, I think we're done here for the day. Let's leave Orochimaru-sama to his experiments."