Chapter 1-33
The very first sensation was the brittleness of my lips, followed by a mouth so dry that it made swallowing a painful and uncomfortable experience. First hints of lucidity coupled with the fact that I struggled to open my bleary eyes told me things were bad…really bad.
"You survived; Orochimaru-sama will be pleased," a youthful voice stated emotionlessly and pushed me further towards awareness.
Disregarding the fact, that I was feeling like absolute shit, I noted that I was propped up against a rocky wall in what appeared to be the shade of a little natural overhang. A clear blue sky was visible and strong waves audible.
"What the!" I croaked wide-eyed when I finally noticed my left arm.
'Why is there a fucking drip?!' My eyes followed the intravenous line, and sure enough, hanging on some weird white stick crudely hammered into the wall was a fucking IV bag.
The sight and the timely reminder of who exactly had captured me instantly got my pulse racing.
Which in turn led to a sight, that only made things worse.
Cold sweat and pain were almost ignored in favor of watching inch-thick straight black lines race down my shoulder all the way to my forearm.
A gasp was caught in my throat when I observed the lines recede and extend minutely almost in tandem with my racing pulse.
"A gift from Orochimaru-sama," the voice stated listlessly, and I finally looked up to see a white-haired teen stand in front of me.
"And a reward," he said and put down a filthy burlap sack "Open it!"
With that, he turned and gave me some space.
Tired and weak, I carefully pulled out the IV line and hung the end next to the bag to avoid wasting the fluids in case they were truly just an innocent solution. That done I tried and failed to ignore the signs of malnourishment and hoppled towards the sack.
"A reward," I muttered, incredibly weary given the sender and the unpleasant 'wrapping'.
The smell becoming more and more noticeable I gingerly grabbed the sack at spots, that weren't covered by dried whatever and carefully spilled out the contents.
Instantly I grimaced in annoyance and disgust as the decayed but easily recognizable heads of Zabuza, Unmo, and Ao stared up at me.
I narrowed my eyes when I spotted their wide-open mouths, and my grimace was back in full force when I realized, that something had been shoved down their throats.
"Oh, that really wasn't necessary," I muttered waspishly, supremely unimpressed by the gift.
Finally wide awake, I pushed down my annoyance and crouched down in front of Ao, his gaping and rotting eye socket a clear hint of what I was going to find lodged in his mouth.
And sure enough…
A small glass cylinder with a perfectly preserved and highly distinctive eyeball.
'For old times' sake' was neatly written in small letters on the bottom.
Not sure how to feel about this and with nowhere to put it I shoved it back inside Ao's mouth and turned to Zabuza's head.
A scroll.
'Fun and motivation' was in the same handwriting on its side.
With my thumb and index finger I managed to avoid the rotting flesh and pulled out the item.
Not sensing any lurking chakra, I carefully unrolled the scroll and promptly felt my face go slack.
Sanzo Yukimaru, the name of my fake identity, in bold letters under a somewhat recent and detailed picture of myself.
30,000,000 ryō.
Mercenary; involved in the murder of Kirigajure shinobis and theft of artifacts.
Wanted Dead.
'What?!'
Perhaps sensing my thoughts grinding to a halt I saw the teen turn slightly.
"A Kiri patrol was made to see a group of our men wearing the distinctive garb of a known rogue organization. They saw you and an unconscious Suigetsu Hozuki leave through the northern border."
Somewhat overwhelmed I turned to fully face the guy, totally caught off guard by the unexpected reveal.
"I was instructed to tell you the following: be aware that the truth can easily and quickly be revealed, the consequences potentially harsh and far-reaching."
That said he suddenly bowed minutely.
"Farewell!" and a graceful leap later he was simply gone, out of sight.
I stared stupidly.
Was that all a fucking joke to the snake bastard.
Starting to get pissed I carelessly shoved the scroll back into Zabuza's mouth and made my way towards Unmo's head, which also seemed to have a scroll in his mouth.
Beyond caring, I ripped the thing out and saw that it had a small elaborate motive of a bird on its side.
And sure enough…
Unfolding it I saw name after name with Unmo Sumidare being the last one.
The summoning contract for seagulls…
"Fuck that noise!" I snarled, closed the scroll, and put it where I got it.
Standing abruptly, anger giving me a burst of strength, I was suddenly hit with another wave of fatigue.
I ignored the black lines slowly receding up my arm and made my way back to the drip where I spotted something potentially worrying.
Behind a little rock, right under the half-empty IV bag hanging on the wall, were three more empty ones.
"How long was I out?"
Two towers of empty plates, one just a tiny bit higher.
"This isn't over yet," a man clad in green panted, visibly struggling with the piece of sushi held by his chopsticks.
His vest opened long ago along with the belt of his pants.
Beats of sweat glistened on his forehead as he gingerly brought the little bite to his mouth, a sudden clink, and the tower slightly further away from him just got a little bit higher yet again.
"You said something?" a voice responded as a hand reached for another plate in front of them.
A single little droplet of sweat raced down his temple and he couldn't help but twitch, the need to respond to his cool, hip, and trendy rival warring with the desire to keep going and win this particular competition.
"You alright there, Gai?" a tall man with a full beard sitting next to a beautiful raven-haired woman asked clearly worried. The seat directly opposite the struggling man continued to become an increasingly dangerous place to stay it seemed.
"Of course, Asuma, just savoring the taste," the man gave a shaky thumbs up.
The woman, caught between disapproval and humor, gave a small sigh, and turned towards her opposite, a pensive look crossing her features for a split second.
"The Chunin Exam is in two months," she began and gave the man in green a short glance, indicating that he was addressing him as well. "Would you two perhaps consider entering your teams, too?"
Correctly sensing the seriousness of the topic Kakashi and Gai paused their eating frenzy and gave Kurenai their full attention.
Taking the chance to elaborate she went on.
"With the exams held here and the Red Exam still relatively fresh Konoha is well within its rights to monitor the survival portion more closely. They are fresh, but this might be the safest exam for them in a long while." Kurenai explained before taking a sip of her sake.
"My team is decently strong," she paused, "They are strong for regular shinobi their age," she corrected herself. "And they are fantastic trackers, it would be easy for them to find your teams and link up during the exam."
"It wouldn't be a true challenge and test for their skills," Gai began pensively, a 'but' however rather obviously hanging in the air.
"But you are right, other villages had suffered losses while we didn't. They know it, too."
"We can't know if they plan to balance the scale again," Kurenai added, driving the point home regarding future exams.
Silently gazing through a nearby window, Kakashi heaved a big sigh.
"Naruto can be a loud, foul-mouthed, vicious little bastard at times, but he is a strong and dedicated shinobi, who pushes Sasuke and helps Sakura wherever he can," he paused and gave Kurenai a shrewd glance. "I imagine your Kiba is the same."
The comment made Kurenai smile.
"Yes, Hinata and Shino are clearly benefiting from his drive," She answered and couldn't help but chuckle. "Whether they like it or not."
"I wish I had one with just half of their motivation," Asuma muttered under his breath before he took a sip of his own sake.
"Daiki definitely left an impression on them," Kurenai agreed, fond smile still in place.
"Hmm, let's hope the impression isn't too deep," Kakashi responded, gaze now out of the window again. His comment immediately drew frowns from Kurenai and Gai.
"From what I heard he's a dedicated friend and role model for shinobis in the springtime of their youth."
"You know there was a time before he was on your team," Kakashi said, tone devoid of condemnation, simply stating a fact and finally looking towards Kurenai, who refrained from commenting.
She knew, perhaps better than most, that Daiki had…layers, and Kakashi was probably the closest at this very table who could truly relate to Daiki.
Still, feeling the need to defend her former student and the progress they made together Kurenai was about to respond when Kakashi suddenly pulled a little black book out of an inside pocket of his vest.
Thoughts racing, half a dozen implications flashing through her mind given the book and an apparent connection to Daiki, Kurenai continued to remain quiet and wordlessly bid for Kakashi to please elaborate and not beat around the bush.
"ANBU regularly gets updates on every new Bingo Book entry from all the villages, potential targets from rivals that might have valuable intel on their former homes, hunter-nin stuff basically," he began to explain while leisurely turning the pages.
"Every once in a while, I update my book and take expired bounties out," he continued still unhurriedly until he reached the section he apparently had been looking for.
"The 'unofficial' Kiri chapters had been unusually busy recently and," he commented, paused and turned the book towards Kurenai. "Imagine my surprise when I saw a familiar face."
"Sanzo…" Kurenai whispered wide-eyed until…
"30!?" Asuma exclaimed loudly before coughing wildly, his sake having gone down the wrong tube given the surprise.
"I mean," a final cough. "How did a brat get such a bounty?" Asuma questioned in disbelief, obviously missing the stink-eye he was receiving from his bench neighbor much to Kakashi's amusement.
"Maybe we should refrain from drawing too much attention to this given his true affiliation and the severity of the accusations," Gai, having read the entry upside down, told the group uncharacteristically serious, instantly sobering up the occupants of the table when they quickly caught on to the implications.
"You are right," Kurenai nodded, and with a final worried glance at the picture, she closed the book.
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Given that Yagura already has a history with Akatsuki (see Jozu Biwa) I can see Orochimaru having some fun at Daiki's expense while simultaneously fucking with his former colleagues, who he thoroughly despises. Plus he now has a hook on Daiki that may or may not get stronger given the seal.