The Switch

Bensha stared through the window. A carriage was taking her as close to Konoha as Orochimaru could get. She longed for the sky she she was jostled about in the carriage.

"Don't worry, Bensha-chan. Soon, you'll be free. Besides, you get to destroy a whole village of filth while you wait." Bensha turned to him.

"I have been reduced to a mere shadow of my former glory. I can no longer hear the wind sing. It has forsaken me because a snake took over this fragile body. When I am once more Bensha I will rip you to sheds. I will break your jaw and nose. I will rip out your hair and then I will pull out your eyeballs only far enough to turn them so you can see your mutilated face. Then I will pull out your heart and show it to you while it is still beating." Orochimaru smirked.

"You have a vivid sense of imagination." Bensha's expression held no emotion.

"I do not imagine this. The wind transcends all time. It told me of the future."

"So the wind told you that you would do that to me."

"The wind is gone. But I do not need it. I am Bensha. My words are law. I may not have been told by the wind your fate, but it will be as I said. I will make it so."

Gaara looked at Temari.

"Brother, why did you want to go to those mountains?" She had been wanting to know the whole time.

". . ."

"Please Gaara. Please answer your sister." Gaara turned to her as she pleaded with him. She still considered him her brother after all he did? She was terrified whenever he transformed into his true form. He could smell her fear miles away. Yet she never went farther away than she was forced to. She stayed with him no matter what and cared for him afterwards. He supposed that would be enough of a reason to speak to her without too many death threats.

". . . I don't know. Something just dragged me there."

Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her head. Sasuke was there, nearly throwing a hissy fit.

"Why do I have to get help from that Yoko?!" He demanded for the nineteenth time. She was getting a headache.

"Yoko is a meiko. Not only that, but she is a Uzumaki! The Uzumaki only have one meiko in the family at all times. Meaning that even if someone is good enough to be meiko, they would still be considered in training until the other one dies or gives up their position. Yoko was taught by Uzumaki Toshiko! One of the greatest meiko known to the leaf. She would be able to get rid of that cursed seal." Tsunade explained. Her eyes darkened as she gritted her teeth. "Now. If. I. Have. To. Eaplain. One. More. Time. Then. I. Will. Kill. You. Get. Your. Butt. Out. Of. Here. Now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She bit out. Sasuke quickly left the room to where Yoko was suppose to be. It was the same place Kakashi had put a seal on him.

Robin rung holy water out of a cloth and placed it on to Setsuko's head. She was unconscious from her strange attack earlier. Robin looked over to Akira as he entered with some more holy water and food.

"How is she doing?" He asked quietly.

"I . . . I don't know. Yukio said she might take awhile to regain conscious. But even he doesn't know. Tenshi had left with Yoko to go to the Uchiha kid. Tsunade-sama said Yoko had to remove something and Tenshi might be needed afterwards. Tsunade-sama herself was busy so Tenshi had to go because she was familiar with Yoko's abilities." Akira nodded before getting up again. "Where are you going?" The blind boy turned her head in her direction.

"I think Hatake-san, and Naruto-sama would want to know."

"Are you sure? We don't know. It's best not to worry about it until we know the real facts." Robin muttered as she got up.

"Fine. But what do we do in the mean time?" Robin sighed.

"Well, Tsunade said that she wanted the Uzumaki Family to come and have a formal dinner with her so we would get to discuss things better . . ." Robin sighed as she kicked the ground lightly in annoyance. "I hate to say this . . . but we should get ready . . . Yoko-chan said something about there being clothes in one of the wings. We should look there." Akira smiled and nodded.

"I am afraid that I won't be able to help you chose your outfit. But could you help me with mine?" Robin shrugged as she laid out an outfit Yoko had decided Setsuko would wear.

"Whatever." She muttered as she left the room.

Yoko adjusted her giant headdress. She was wearing a huge elaborate dress that had many layers and was very heavy. The dress was red with gold under it. It piled into the ground and had gold sticking out further than the red. It seemed to have huge folds all over the dress from the huge amount of fabric. The heavy fabric had flowers printed all over and on the back was a yin yang. Her red sleeves went down to the ground and her collar was cut low showing the gold fabric that was under it and had a high collar on her neck. Around her neck was a huge jade necklace. Her long black hair had been put into a high pony tail that went to her waist. Bright colored beads were laced into her hair as her bright gold eye shadow and thick black eyeliner seemed to jump out of her white painted face along with the bright red lipstick. Her checks had been adorn with light blue blush. Yoko's headdress was huge and seemed to be from the same fabric as the dress except the flowers where in a gold design. It weighted heavily on her head along with her large gold disk earrings. She stared at the boy in front of her. Tenshi had helped both of them dress. He was a dark blue outfit similar to hers. The top part of his outfit had been pulled down to reveal his curse seal. Tenshi stood off to the side in a green outfit similar to theirs. Her white hair had been pulled into a tight braid and she wore pale burgundy lipstick and dark brown eyeliner. Yoko lifted her hands up into the air, causing the heavy fabric to fall down to her shoulders.

"Ancient powers near and far!!!! I call to you!!!!! Grant me the power I seek!!!!!! To remove this foul curse from the boy!!!!!!!!!! I call to you to lift this curse!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ask of you to use me as a vessel for you mighty powers!!!!!!!!! Grant to me what others are denied!!!!!!" Yoko felt a bright light burn into the dark room. She herself started to glow. She turned her eyes to Sasuke as he braced himself. "Nugu jibun bachiatari fugou!!!!!!!!!!" ((Remove yourself curse mark)) She slammed her glowing white hand into his glowing dark shoulder. Sasuke yelled in agony as the seals holding back the cursed seal on his shoulder began to burn away. The cursed seal began to burn itself off but stopped. Yoko glared at it as sweat started to smear her makeup. "Ancient powers! This stain dares to defy you! Show it your power!!!!!!!!!!!! Nugu jibun bachiatari fugou!!!!!!!!!!" The bright light intensified greatly. Sasuke screamed louder as the mark sizzled. The skin around it boiled as the holy light poured into it. The mark itself started to boil and smoke. Finally, it was gone. Sasuke fell to the ground, having long ago lost consciousness. Tenshi caught him before he hit his head. She laid him gently on the ground before catching Yoko. The drenched meiko seemed to barely able to hold herself up. Tenshi helped her to the ground as Yoko shooed her away. "Help the boy." She whispered weakly. "I am merely exhausted." Tenshi nodded and turned to the boy. His shoulder had blisters all over it along with burn marks. Some blood had come out of it too. Tenshi pulled out a medical jar and started to rub the ointment into his shoulder. Even unconscious he yelled out in pain. Tenshi then held her hand over it and started to heal his shoulder. Yoko laid on her back and shoved the headdress off. She panted as sweat rolled off her face. She thought back to earlier when she and Tenshi had talked.

Flashback

"Ore . . . . ore . . ." Tenshi waited patiently.

"Go on Yoko." Yoko took a deep breath.

"Ore . . . ore . . . atto ano sanguka, temae putto ue motte touhou, sae tatoe ore kesshite shian no nannari demo ano Celia Sanguka. Atto . . . atto . . . Arigatou, fukushin." (I . . . I . . . at the mountains, you put up with me, even though I never thought of anything but the Celia Mountains. You . . . you . . . Thank you, trusted friend.) Yoko looked down in shame and embarrassment. Tenshi smiled.

"It's okay Yoko-chan. Don't worry. Toshiko and I talked about it a long time ago." Yoko looked up at her surprised.

"What do you mean?" Tenshi laughed slightly as she thought back to the conversation.

"I once complained about you to Toshiko-san. It was before I really understood. She said that all young meiko are like that."

"I . . . I don't understand Tenshi-san . . ." Tenshi leaned back in her hair and put her hands behind her head.

"Toshiko-san said that you were just real sensitive towards holy items. Because we were on the mountains, you would always be in 'meiko mode' and never truly relax. Same way Robin acts when she has a mission. All serious and stuff. I'm fine with it 'cause I know." Tenshi smiled at Yoko again. "'Sides, it was fun to get you riled up!" Yoko smiled at her.

"Arigatou, Tenshi-chan!"

"Arigatou, Yoko-chan!!" Tenshi responded happily. "Now come on, Tsunade-sama said she waited you to remove some kind of cursed seal. I'll help with the gowns and afterwards, k?" Yoko nodded with a bright smile.

"Hai!"

End Flashback

Tenshi sighed as Sasuke's shoulder healed. She removed her hand and tightly bandage the shoulder.

"I never realize just how powerful you can be." Tenshi muttered, causing Yoko to look up surprised.

"Nani?" Tenshi smiled as she turned to look at Yoko.

"I always thought you were pretty weak 'cause you only knew a few jutsu and couldn't fight at all. Now I see that you're strong. Meiko powers are different, I realize that now." Yoko smiled at Tenshi.

"Hai. They are totally different ways. Impossible to compare them." Tenshi turned back to the boy.

"I'm done. I can take him to his home and then you and I can get ready for the dinner with Hokage-sama."

Bensha stared down at the clay doll. She reached out and stroked its face.

"So close to the child. Before her soul merged with Aka Yuki." She muttered to herself. Bensha pulled her hand away from the cold body. She looked around the room and saw the dress laid out. She turned back to the doll and knelt on one knee beside it. Bensha reached down to her and wrapped her hands around the doll's fragile neck. She started to squeeze but stopped. The doll didn't need to breath . . . but she could break off the head . . . yet . . . something inside of her kept Bensha from breaking off the head. Bensha stood up straight and thought back to Orochimaru and his twisted plan. She held her hand in front of her stomach. Black chakra appeared around it as she began to force it into the small body within her. She felt pain erupt through her body but she still kept forcing the chakra into the unborn. Finally, after a few minutes the pain stopped as the unborn child was destroyed. Bensha let out a breath and glared into space. "The snake's bastard body will not come from me." She hissed as she placed her hand onto the clay Setsuko. She gently put some chakra into the body. "There . . . you shall sleep alittle longer." She muttered before walking to the clothes. She picked up the red dress and looked over to the clay doll. "I will take care of this for you."