Before Ya Read Note: Aww. Now the two get to fight. Mind you all, this was difficult to keep Sasuke in character while he got his ass partially kicked. >. So, do not mock me. Feel free, however, to yell at me if you feel I didn't. ;) I didn't post it on FanFiction for it to take up space but to get reviews on what people thought about it.
Just so no one is mislead, Kaida, although may seem like one, is not a perfect character. She DOES have many flaws, many of which just haven't been seen yet. So, don't go off ranting 'Oh, your character has no flaws, and blah, blah, blah.' Perfect characters annoy the hell outta me too so I'll try not to do it. Later, however, if you still feel she's too perfect, please input SUGGESTIONS as well as complaints. :D Mucho gracias(Very/Much thanks), and please review.
In The Woods Outside of the Hidden Village of the Sound:
He didn't flinch. She didn't scare him. "You want lessons? What could a controlled environment that has rules and limits teach you? In the real world, there won't be any sensei to save your ass. There aren't any rules and anyone can do anything if you're dumb enough to be duped." Sasuke felt his knuckles turn white and his hand felt as if it were about to bleed from his nails in his skin, "So how about it, Sasuke? Wanna play with the big kids? I promise I won't hurt you too bad. I just need to see what your capabilities are…see if you're wasting your time trying to kill your brother."
She had just stepped over the edge. At first she seemed ok…but now…
He didn't even give a warning as he threw a shuriken at her. It hit her…square in the chest. She didn't even move…that grim smirk was still on her face. The air seemed to be thick and the time seemed to have stopped. Sasuke swore to himself. He should've known.
"Ah, so you've already realized that not all of my illusions are as obvious as the first one?"
Her voice echoed in the air and had a sort of tinge of humor in it. However, Sasuke was in no mood to be trifled with. Before him, the figure of Kaida melted into a pool of flesh-colored liquid with black swirls in it and disappeared into thin air. The trees around him rippled as if they were a reflection in disturbed water however the branch beneath him remained whole. The sky turned from a blue into the colors of a forest in autumn. Sasuke looked around confused, and unsure of where to go. He was out in the open…an easy target and his Sharingan, for whatever reason, had no effect. It was a stupid move…he shouldn't have let his temper get the best of him…. Temper. That was it. She had already showed him her terrible temper on the subject of Itachi…. now all he had to do was use it to his own advantage.
Suddenly he was side-tackled and thrown into mid-air. The move was startling since his reality now seemed now a wavering haze of brown, rather horizontal lines and scarlet, rust, yellow blurred together so he couldn't tell where other branches were. Feeling stupid, he let himself fall onto another branch while having a major disadvantage.
"Why can't I see through this even with Sharingan?" He panted as he kicked at her, missing as she stepped back. For all he knew, this was just an illusion of her…
"Because my line's Kekkei genkai is immune to other kekkei genkai." Laughed Kaida from behind. He jabbed his elbow back only to have it make contact with nothing. "Surely your school taught you of the Three Curses put upon my blood? Curse of Immunity to fellow kekkei genkai. Curse of eternal nightmares each dusk. And Curse of healing 6 times slower." He was beginning to become frustrated as she lectured him; he tried to think of another tactic…
Calm down, Sasuke…don't trust your eyes… He breathed in deeply and closed his useless eyes. Now concentrate…listen for her movement and stay focused. All he could see was vast ebony… He heard a leaf rustle and a twig snap to his left…then barely a second after the vibration of a branch from a foot stepping on it to his right. She was either running at amazingly high speeds or this wasn't real either.
"Smart…using your second strongest sense of hearing to find me. That was something that took me a while to figure out to master. Even so, I suggest you not to pay attention to it. I can now manufacture sounds…" Sasuke thought he had locked onto her voice…but to try to find her without knowing where stable terrain was would be chaos. He decided to stay put until she came closer…that or try to get back on the ground… "So, your eyes and ears are useless and you best not believe them... Unless you want to be lead into a trap." Kaida laughed, "Scent doesn't work either. I'm not a novice at my bloodline trait…I never underestimate anyone. I have a bag of spices and other strong-odor items to counteract that sense. I've deposited them all around so you couldn't trace my scent. And if you were skilled enough to have keen enough sense of smell to identify the differences in flows of scents, I would've made it a quick job and have killed you by now. But, I can't do that now can I? No…this is a lesson. A lesson to show you what lies beyond the borders of these soft allied nations." She smirked and her voice drifted close than far again.
"Anyways, this bores me…you're smart enough not to try to attack blindly like some other fools. So, you pass…of course, what I would've expected from an Uchiha. If you hadn't been unable to get past that easy challenge, I would've ended it here to save you the agony of even trying to beat Itachi."
Sasuke, still rather furious at her for these games and being treated like a child, opened his eyes. Reality was normal again…however Kaida was nowhere to be seen.
"Everything is reality…. I've just cloaked myself because I'm sure you're raging mad at me. Take my generosity and kindly leap down…I'm sure you've realized it'd be easier to fight me that way."
Sasuke, hating himself for what he was doing, leapt down…a shuriken out. He got onto the ground without any trouble but was immediately submerged into darkness. Before him was Kaida. Unlike before though, instead of just having her long bangs hang, she had let down all of her hair. It was draggled, ragged, lank and hung down to her shoulder blades, limp over her pale features that were striking in the inky darkness. She still wore the same skin-tight, black shirt and tattered, short, dark blue skort with loose black stockings that fell at her ankles which remained on from bulky, dark gray shoes. On her upper left thigh was a black, strip that held two knives and hanging from her fiery belt were two dusty-brown canvas bags with the character for 'dream' and 'nightmare' on the flaps. Her jewel-like eyes were an intense green.
"Why are you doing this? What's your real reason? Why should you care if someone dies to him? You don't even know me!" Snarled Sasuke, knowing that the figure in front of him was probably an illusion.
"How typical. Refusing assistance…you are true to your blood." Her voice reminded him of sand skittering across rough sidewalk, "You want a reason besides to assist you? I want him dead. We share a dream…you want him dead, too. I can see it in your eyes…burning, passionate hate. You're wasting your time with a sensei. One cannot help mold someone else's hatred. We want to reek revenge…we know it shall not get back what is lost, but it satisfies a hunger…a need. That's how all avengers are. Others are different. Orochimaru wants him dead for pride. Your friends—Sakura and Naruto—want him dead for your sake. No one really understands…they all try to make you think they do, but you know they don't and never will." Sasuke's eyes widened as she mentioned Sakura and Naruto. "How did I know about your friends? It's how I know people's worse fears. I can see illusions and reality at the same time…how I control both. But I can also see memories…. Not what they're thinking, but what they've thought. Who they are and what they've become. But, sometimes…I wish I could see who I've become…then again, haven't we all?" Kaida smiled…apparently lost in her own memories. Sasuke was lost for words. She knew all about him…she knew every secret that he knew. The thought was rather frightening. But he didn't show it…he couldn't of if he tried. Then…anger boiled. She thought that he was like her, did she?
"I'm nothing like you." He spat, "I'm not some coward who hides, plays puppet-master than acts like they know all! Unlike you, I have friends! I know right from wrong and don't murder senselessly!"
"You call me a coward for using my abilities? For surviving? Do you just envy the fact that I am stronger therefore do not have to exert so much effort?" She didn't sound offended. Just stung that he thought life was so easy for her… "Maybe I have no friends, but that's because I don't want betrayal! I'm not stupid enough trust because it'll just be shattered eventually! And so what if weed the garden of the weak? Or perhaps you just haven't realized how pathetically weak the world is. How easily hearts can be crushed…physically or mentally. How am I being senselessly cruel if the world was that way to me! Doesn't that make everything that way, therefore making me normal?"
The vision of Kaida blurred and around her was a red aura. Her dark green eyes had a mischievous glint in them as a wind picked up, and her black hair swirled around her face. On the ground, there was a swirling mass of snakes that clung around his ankles. Their squirming, scaly bodies…he could've sworn he felt the scales against his flesh… It's not real, Sasuke! They're not real! It's a lie…they can't hurt you because they're not real. His thoughts soothed his fear and he relaxed his shoulders.
"This isn't real. Why should I be afraid?" He asked, looking into her gem-like eyes. "Stop the games…you can't fool me."
"Can't I?" From behind, a foot kicked him and he fell headfirst into mess of snakes. They flared their hoods, but never tried to bite him. They always moved out of his way just before he touched them.
"You're forgetting, Sasuke." Her voice had that tinge of humor in it again, "I know all about you. Your fears…your weaknesses…who you hate, and who you cherish."
Before him, he saw his mother smiling at him. His throat felt dry.
"Sasuke, it's been so long…" His mother gave a comforting laugh and Sasuke turned away, just as Kaida appeared. From behind him, he heard a scream. He threw a punch at her, knowing that she was probably an illusion anyways. To his surprise, however, she caught the punch. He could feel her hot skin against his as she barely even put any pressure on his fist.
"Surprise, surprise." She taunted as she caught his other punch and twisted both of his arms painfully behind his back. He grimaced and hit tried to hit her with the heel of his foot. Before he even came five inches from her though, she pushed him forwards and kicked him in his hip with her own heel as he fell forwards. He lay on his back, his hip aching.
Wait…she had revealed herself to him. Now his Sharingan was valid…he wasn't going to give up now. He stood up just in time to evade her punch and grab her wrist. Suddenly, he was behind her and had her arm behind her back to the point of tension. She stepped backwards into him and stepped on his foot then elbowed him in the gut. He staggered back, loosing hold on her wrist and she turned around, fists up ready for his next attack. He wiped a bit of blood from his mouth. She was a fair fighter…but now he was really going to start to fight. He threw some throwing stars at her and while she dodged them, came up at her and kicked her across the face. She blocked the side-kick with her forearm but flew back as he stabbed his foot right in her gut. She hit something and fell to the ground, Sasuke guessed a tree. But since his fighting arena was a still just an endless sea of darkness, he couldn't be for sure. She stood almost instantly, wiping blood from her mouth as he had done just moments before.
"Are you going to kill me?" She mocked, "Did I insult you by making you feel minor compared to me? Is that why you detest him? Because your arrogance binds you to?"
Sasuke threw a kunai at her— "The only conceited person I see here is you. I'm not the one who kills people just to feel important because they lost to someone, Kaida. Weak, cowering people like you make me sick."
She caught the kunai easily and bent it with the pressure of one hand. Something in his gut told him it wasn't an illusion… "Weak? Cowering? Perhaps I am arrogant, Sasuke, but at least I'm not a hypocrite like you. I do not hide; I merely go where others do not because of fear. Why do you not try to do the same?" She dropped the kunai and there was a metallic click and it lay in the blackness. Sasuke had to guess it landed on a rock from the odd angle it sat at.
She threw a throwing star at him with perfect accuracy if it weren't for the fact he moved. One second she was throwing metallic stars at him, the next she was in front of him and her fist was two inches from his face. He just barely managed to dive out of the way from the attack and hit her in the back and force her to tumble forwards. She caught herself, did a perfect front-flip and spun around, a shuriken out. By now Sasuke was at his feet, and, too, had a shuriken out.
Kaida flicked a lock of hair behind her face that was slightly slick from perspiration. "Bring it, Uchiha." She smirked.
"Try to keep up, Maimu." He mimicked as he bolted behind her, jumping over an in-flight shuriken that would've been deadly accurate had he not moved. There was a clash as she had had enough time to pull out another one. Was that even possible for someone to move that fast? As his thoughts drifted, he felt himself losing to Kaida and quickly increased pressure. The two shurikens hissed at the strain, and then Kaida's flew from her hand. However, this move was extremely sudden and Sasuke, who was also not expecting, listened to his clank uselessly to the ground along with hers. Before Kaida could make a move towards it though, he had already thrown a kick that had been leapt over gracefully. She flung more throwing stars at him, which he caught and shot back at her. She dodged them threw a kick at him. He blocked the kick and swiped his leg beneath her, sending Kaida tumbling down. He pulled out a shuriken as he kept her pinned down with his knee. The scene froze as he held his weapon a few millimeters from her bare, exposed neck. Both of them panted from the intense battle… "Looks like the student has surpassed the master."
"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" From the position he was at, he couldn't see her face…but he didn't need eyes to tell him she was smirking…. God, what was she thinking now? Without warning, she spat at his hand. Instinctively, he pulled away, only then realizing that he had given away his advantage. She bit the handle of the shuriken he held and yanked it out of his hands and hide wherever it had landed in the darkness. Without a weapon to prevent her movements, she twisted underneath his pressure and elbowed his knee to throw him off her. As he fell to the side, she grabbed him around his neck and pivoted on her knees so that she was behind him and could suffocate him.
"You have to be ready for everything, Sasuke," She sang tauntingly. It somewhat reminded him of Kakashi during the first task of taking a bell from him three years ago. But back then he had been weak…hadn't he? How could he be that weak again? Anger boiled inside of him. With strength that he didn't even know he had, he pulled her over his head and slammed her into the ground. Her dark, emerald eyes were wide with shock as he did, clearly not anticipating this move either. He smirked.
"Now, who was that hypocrite again?" He leered.
Pain shot down her spine as she landed on the ground. Was he truly that strong? A part of her wished she could start over…they'd been getting along fine. Why'd she have to test him? Why? Of course, she already knew the answer…to analyze whether or not he was a threat. But the fact that he might've been friends partially meant there was still a chance at that. Keeping ambitions to herself, she smiled, continuing on with her little lesson.
"I must admit, Sasuke, I am rather impressed." Her voice had that natural taunt back in it, "How about we move onto another lesson? A more challenging one to really test your abilities." She let the illusions fall; her eyes still a murky green, though. "Let's see how well you can decipher reality from fantasy."
As if on an insane roller coaster, Sasuke was suddenly flung onto the top of a cloud, in which he stood on as if it were ground. All around him, there was an endless abyss of blue while wispy, white vapors of the cloud swirled around his leg and around his head. They thickened until he couldn't see…he felt something grasp around his neck. He pulled against what he saw as a coil of a cloud in an attempt to make sure it didn't strangle him. Fear ricocheted in his head as he remained unaware of what to do. It's an illusion, Something in his mind told him, It's not real. She said it herself. Stop fighting! It's useless! However, the natural instincts in his minds were overwhelmed with the sense of reality to listen.
"The mind is amazing, isn't it? It can perceive fantasy as reality. Can't you just feel the cool, damp mist against your skin? The breeze through your hair?"
As she mentioned it, he could…surely this must've been real.
Hidden from view Kaida had used her chakra to push the air around him, and had put into action the Maimu Line's signature ability to control water with uncanny ease to take the water from a nearby plant and spray it as a mist against Sasuke's face. She smirked as his expression turned from stone to fear. Messing with minds was so easy, especially when they knew nothing about you. Just to test if he now believed she had control over reality, she shifted the image from a cloud, to a lava pit. The steam curled up from the magma, as it began to encircle him. His eyes grew in terror. She let some of the magma hit him, and made him view the situation as if it were actual lava touching him—in other words, he caught afire, his clothes burning and skin now suffering from third degree burns. Just as Ryuu, the General of Shinunak had, Sasuke's mind now thought that this was real and his own nerves registered pain, although there was none, making Sasuke experience it. He gasped in agony.
"How can you do this? This isn't possible. My Sharingan should be able to see through an illusion—Curse or no Curse!" Secretly, Kaida frowned again. How did he know—no, it must've been a lucky guess.
True, the Uchiha clan was supposed to be able to see through all illusionary techniques. But at the same time, Kaida's people had had that curse put upon them long ago—before the Uchiha's. This meant, the Curse was not has effective against them and, with an amazing will and amount of skill, they could partially break. That was why Misaki and Nori had fallen to him. But, at the same time, it had taken a good ten minutes before he had broken through the illusions, indicating that it wasn't as easy as simply snapping your fingers. That was why he hadn't seen through the petty illusion she had made—he hadn't been expecting it therefore didn't try to break through. But now? Honestly, Kaida wasn't sure. The main side of her told her he would never be able to break through—he didn't have a will strong enough to nor was as fluent in executing skills as Itachi. However, a small…very much so minor part of her wanted him to. If he did, she would have a partner worthy of trying to slay Itachi with. A person like her. An avenger. Someone who understood her bloodlust for killing and hunger for demise. Not because she was a monster but because she was an avenger. Lost in wickedness searching for justice—that was an avenger.
The arrogance in her spoke, "True," It admitted, "You can pierce such a thick amount of illusion. However, it takes an extreme amount of power and will—do you really loath me enough to?" Sasuke threw a furious look, in mere coincidence, right where Kaida was standing. She didn't flinch.
"I've taken down people far superior to you!" He retorted, "You're nothing compared to them."
A flame ignited in Kaida. "What did you just say? You think that this is my true power, Uchiha?" She let out a mirthless laugh, "You'd be dead then, Uchiha. Dead."
"Then why aren't I?" Asked Sasuke.
"You want to die?" Smirked Kaida, "I thought you wanted Itachi dead before you died."
"Then why did you spare me? If your line is truly so high and mighty?" Replied Sasuke.
"To test you, dear Sasuke. Did you forget? This is a lesson." She purred voice silky. "So how about instead of worrying about intents, you try to beat me. If you can't beat petty me, how can you ever even dream of killing someone even I cannot?"
Sasuke, in temper, launched from the source of her voice. However, seeing as though to his best knowledge he was in some volcanic field of lava, Kaida easily delivered a kick to the gut. He fell backwards, beaten but not defeated.
"Is that all the Uchiha Clan has left? Can't you at least try to see through the illusion? Your brother can…but, that's why you can't beat him, isn't it?" She didn't even know where the words were coming from anymore. They certainly weren't hers… "Because you're weak."
That word seemed to ring in the forest… 'Weak, weak, weak, weak…'
"Don't—" He unleashed ten shurikens randomly, two of which came extremely close to Kaida, "Ever." He threw a blind punch from where her gasp had come from, in which he brushed against her hair, "Call me weak!"
He swept his leg underneath her and she fell.
"Ah, so you do have a bit of your brother's talents."
As she spoke, she raised her arms, her index and middle fingers made into a triangle hand-sign. One very seldom used in jutsu's, however it gave her more control in the IllusionWeaver jutsu in which she was using. "Change!" She proclaimed, letting chakra run through her hands and around her body, "IllusionWeaver Control!" She felt more chakra rush into her system, and more power at her fingertips. Her mind opened up to even more options, like a computer user finding a hidden toolbar.
She let the image change into a field of bloody corpses, the foul odor of decomposition and blood strong in the air. Unreal insects swarmed in the air, creating irritating, droning of buzzes. Normally, she only had control over vision and hearing which usually was enough. Now, however, she had power over scent as well, more then enough to fool Sasuke.
"What the—" The words seemed to catch in his throat. "What…what is this?"
"Your fate," Replied Kaida sheepishly, using her fluent lying skills.
"You can't see the future!" Snapped Sasuke, "Quit the mind games. They don't work on me."
Smirking, Kaida let a flock of crows that been pecking away at some flesh take off, a few stray feathers fluttering to the ground. Sasuke covered his face and took a step back on the blood-covered grass.
"Oh, Sasuke. I already quit the games. This is no game. This is fate. Destiny." Her cruel heart shrieked with joy, "Yours."
"What?"
"In your quest for power, you will learn to kill-worship blood. Love terror and darkness. Your heart shall alter, your friends will hate you—friends will be a thing of the past. Your sword and love of hatred and death will be your companions."
Sasuke, to the bewilderment of Kaida, smirked. "Then what of you? Do I defeat you? Is this the fate I get if I kill you?" He stepped towards her, as if he could see her, "You know, there are some things that I truly hate. One of those would be traitors." With a burst of chakra and overall power that he unleashed, the illusion shattered. Kaida's emerald eyes grew as the faded vision of her imagination disappeared meaning that Sasuke no longer saw it. "And the other is cowards who hide in the shadows."
"You...you." Kaida seemed unable to articulate the words.
"Broke your illusion? Yes." Completed Sasuke, his face satisfied, "I told you to quit—mind games don't work on me."
Her face was shadowed. Sasuke let it sink in for her. He had beaten her…difficultly, although he'd never admit that to her, but he had. However, it was his turn to look at her with bewilderment as her lips curled from emotionless to a smile. She laughed. It wasn't cold, however, but vaguely familiar…. Sasuke, however, did not notice the familiarity for he was too enraged to.
"What are you laughing about?" He snarled.
"You truly are, an Uchiha, Sasuke. You broke one of the hardest tests—most of which people go mad with or commit suicide," She brushed a lock of hair out of her face, "Do you have any idea what that means? You have a chance—a very good chance, might I add, of beating your brother." Her happiness stopped, her face becoming sober. "But, to do so, in which I am willing to aid you in, you're going to have to get away from Orochimaru."
"What—wait, why should I even listen to you? You're mad—insane!" Yelled Sasuke, becoming confused and frustrated at the same time.
"You should trust me, because I share your dream and I think it would be best if we did it together. It would be faster—possible. I won't kid you, I can't beat him now. And, although I admire your valiance, you can't either. The gap is too large for either of us. We need another—each other, if we ever want to rationally accomplish it in the near future." She looked away from Sasuke, sadly, "As for me being insane, yes. Perhaps I am mad. But, I'm afraid, there's order even in chaos, and especially in mine. Perhaps that's why it seems like such mayhem. For Orochimaru…" She turned back to him, her eyes now golden and filled with truth, "He's using you, Sasuke. I don't like the idea either, and I'd be much happier telling you that your sensei wants what's best for you, but he doesn't. And it'll just be futile to pretend he is. He's only been training you to keep you around until he can go into your body." Sasuke turned away from her…. Was that why Naruto and Sakura had wanted him to go back to his home? Or was this some plan by the two? No….Kaida was hated by Konoha. How could she ever even ally herself with them? Unless this was how she planned to redeem herself…no, Kaida would've used blunt force, most likely.
"You believe me, don't you? I know you don't have much reason to, but Orochimaru isn't on the good side, as I'm sure you've noticed. He's heartless and wants only what's best for him. Why on earth would he give you power unless he expects you to return it? In your case, by taking over your body." Sasuke, against his own will, fell to the grassy ground. He was exhausted from fighting and having to use that much chakra to break through her illusions—that and had been fighting all day. And now, finding out that his sensei only wanted him for his own gain? His mind was an emotional tornado.
"I'm so sorry," Muttered Kaida, sitting down gracefully across from him, "But, I'm sure he'll be expecting you in your set time period." Sasuke opened his mouth before remembering she could riffle through his memories, "Don't worry, about Orochimaru. Legendary Sannin, or not, he could be Mother Nature for all I care. But, I'd still take him out all the same."
Sasuke, for once in a very long time, gave her a weak smile. He felt like someone actually cared about what happened to him…and not because of his appearance but for what he thought—who he was. Suddenly, he couldn't remain awake any longer and felt his vision blur into blackness as he drifted into the abyss of unconsciousness.
Kaida, smiled at an unconscious Sasuke. He was a real fighter, he was. Her grin curled into a smirk. They would make a perfect killing team.