Chapter 24: Preparations
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!
Hey guys, here's the newest chapter for you, sorry it's been a while and is really short, I thought it was longer so I took my time with it instead of quickly getting it finished.
I hope the next chapter more than makes up for the time you'll have to wait because it's VERY IMPORTANT to the story!
Enjoy!
Three days passed since the fight with the other two Sannin and Kaede's Chakra had replenished enough for her to continue her desired training. Despite her body still needing time to recover as bandages and bandaids covered parts of her arms and legs, wherever she had been injured. There was even a warm patch attached to her throat using medical tape to soothe her sore voice after accidentally swallowing her own jutsu during the quarrel with Jiraiya.
She still hated him for that.
Tossed in the corner was her brand new maroon robe, along with a new pair of her tall, wooden sandals. So she stood in the middle of the large training hall, wearing only her black flame-retardant one-piece battle suit, glaring at the wall opposite her as she used this time to practice her Katon: Kasai Suīpu and her Futon: Daitoppa until her Chakra almost ran dry. She then took an hour to rest up and replenish, before she did it again and again in hopes of increasing her overall Chakra capacity for a long winded fight.
The reason for her desired training was because she was developing a new jutsu that wasn't too hard to master but would probably take a little more Chakra to execute properly, so she needed to prepare first before she could start on the actual attack.
She fired off another one of her Katon moves before she stopped and stood there, breathing heavily as her glare at the wall intensified with distaste. Her mind ran at a mile a minute trying to come up with other ways to kill Orochimaru if this jutsu didn't finish him off. She would execute him before these odd 'emotions' became a nuisance and made her act out against her ambitions again.
Though she wanted to kill him now and just get it over with, in her current condition, she would be no match for him, even in his own state. She needed to think this through calmly and come up with a proper plan.
She clicked her tongue with impatience and formed the seals for Futon: Daitoppa, inhaling deeply, despite the pain, before she exhaled a large, vicious torrent of wind, putting as much Chakra into it as she could without losing control. She would continue this training for today and work on her Taijutsu tomorrow since Orochimaru's hand-to-hand skills severely outmatched her's.
'I know I ain't going t'be able to take him on with my Taijutsu, but just getting to a level where I can defend myself with it'll be good enough!' She thought as she watched the winds die down. She relaxed her tense form and straightened up, taking a calm breath before she started removing the heat patch on her neck.
It needed replacing, she was not feeling its effects anymore.
She did not know why she was obsessing so hard over the details at the moment anyway until she was fully healed and had completed this jutsu, she couldn't fight him, not unless she wanted to be at a disadvantage. Patience was key to her victory, and she had no plans to rush in and get herself killed before she could hear him take his last breath.
Kaede walked over to a med kit she had put to the side for when her training was done, and just as she collected some new bandages for her other injuries, she was interrupted by a familiar teen who cleared his throat. "I suggest you avoid disturbing Orochimaru-sama for the time being, he's in a rather violent mood and has already killed two of his subordinates."
'That explains why I heard screaming earlier.' Kaede mused silently before she scoffed and shot Kabuto a remorseless grin. "Like I care what ol' Snake Eyes will do t'me! If I feel like taking the piss out of him, I'm going to!"
Kabuto sighed with exasperation, she was ever the disobedient beast.
He watched her wrap her wounds slowly, carefully and noted the scorch marks covering the floor of the training hall. "A word of advice, don't overwork yourself with your training." He stated, as Kaede just sat there, facing away from him. "It would be an inconvenience if you were to fall ill when we need supplies or if a dangerous mission reared its head."
"I know, y'don't need t'keep telling me." She pointed out, standing and turning to face him at long last. "Y'said so yesterday, and the day before, I know what I need t'do." Of course, just because she knew, did not mean she was going to listen. She had her own agenda and sacrificing her duties for it was more than worth it in her mind.
"Keep it in mind, and I won't have to repeat myself." The white-haired medic pressed, before he pushed his glasses up his nose, and went to leave. The redhead turned her attention to her training as she collected some decent weapons to try and deflect with her jutsu, while Kabuto paused by the door and gave her a suspicious glance before he finally left her alone.
He would inform Orochimaru of her acts, her fire was spreading and he would do everything in his power to stop it burning down everything in its path.
~BHBL~
A week passed and the former Sunagakure kunoichi stood in the middle of the training hall, most of the bandages now gone as her wounds healed nicely, her throat clear of heat patches and her ability to use jutsu returned to its full potential. Kaede inhaled deeply and exhaled a torrent of flames, kicking her leg out so she spun in a full circle. Once a ring of embers surrounded her, she formed the seals for Futon: Daitoppa and spat a gust of dangerous winds onto the flames.
However, she didn't realize the fatal error of her method, as the ring of fire turned into a blazing typhoon surrounding her small body. "Ah crap!" She hissed as one of her arms were burned as the bottom of the swirling vortex, where she stood, shrank like a tornado would. She forced some Chakra into her feet and jumped high into the air, landing on one of the three stone snakes that decorated the hall just as the blazing vortex fizzled out and left her crouched there with slight burns to her skin.
'Guess I need t'practice a bit more...' The Sunagakure kunoichi thought as she jumped down off the snake's head and landed in the middle of the circular scorch mark she had left on the stone floor. 'I ain't giving up 'til I'm done!'
And she did not, she spent several hours working on her jutsu alone, to the point of physical exhaustion, before she finally called it quits for the day. She shuffled down the hall with bags under her eyes and sweat sticking to her brow, ready to take a quick shower, read and nap the night away when she came across Orochimaru's open bedroom door.
As she crossed the doorframe and peeked into the room, mid-step, she grinned at the sight of her former captor sat up in bed, hair covering most of his sweaty face as he tried to steady his breathing and ignore the pain in his bleeding arms. "I hope y'feel better soon, Orochimaru-sama~" She jeered as she passed the door and carried on walking, grinning triumphantly when she heard a vicious, angry yell and something shatter along with a heavy, wet thump against the back wall of his room.
The pale man listened as her footsteps echoed down the corridor until her bedroom door closed, then he curled his lips into a dark, dangerous snarl. Usually, he was quite amused by her dry humor, but with his arms getting worse by the day, he could barely focus on anything but anger and revenge. Hell, he did not even smile at the thought of his new container anymore!
Orochimaru removed his hand off the back wall near his head, where he left a splatter of blood and sticky patches of bloody skin. Kabuto, who stood at his side, didn't say a word, his eyes hidden behind the lenses of his frames as a broken cup lay in fragments at his feet. He did, however, shiver when his lord shot him a glare fitting a snake cornering its dinner. "Kabuto..." The Sannin rasped. "Start the necessary preparations...My new vessel awaits."
Kabuto bowed his head. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama." And with that, he left with his fists clenched, ready to take action.
When the door closed behind the young medic, that was when the snake shinobi finally grinned, at long last, he would be rid of his torment and gain the one thing he had wanted the most since meeting Uchiha Itachi. The precious Sharingan.
He was getting impatient.
~BHBL~
A new day dawned a week from the last, and Kaede was once again stood in the training hall, hunched over, breathing heavily as she stared at the damage she had done to the area. There were gashes in the stone statues and walls of the room, and scorch marks covering massive areas around her feet, her own arm had been burnt and her robe had a tiny burn on the bottom from when the typhoon of fire moved around the room against her will.
Her lips curled into a grin despite all the calamity, and she looked at the mess with a glimmer of pride in her eyes. Though she had harmed herself, her clothes and the room she worked hardest in, it was not all in vain. Her jutsu was complete, and she was ready to take Orochimaru's life.
It was finally time for her to seek out her revenge, all she had to do now was think about the method. The redhead with a vendetta straightened up and walked over to her robe, pulling it on and tying it tight with swift, determined actions, before she turned and left the room without looking back at the damage.
Since her jutsu required a lot of stamina and Chakra to pull off, she decided it would be best to use it as a last resort, rather than right from the beginning. If she could find a way to kill him without having to fight at all, it would be an even bigger bonus, because she would still have the strength to kill Kabuto if he chose to avenge his lord.
As she walked with a smirk on her lips, looking much like her usual wild self, her tactical mind worked hard to come up with plenty of plans and strategies that would ensure her success.
What if she poisoned him?
Kaede halted suddenly and ran her fingers through her hair as the idea stuck. This would add a few more days to Orochimaru's lifespan, but if done right, she would give him a slow and painful death. Her grin widened with a cruel sense of malice and her eyes darkened with hatred and determination. 'Heh, I ain't against making him suffer like I did~'
Of course, there was a major con to that idea, to poison him effectively, he could not be cured, which meant she had to find a way to take Kabuto out of the picture. Her smile dropped and her expression turned serious as her eyes narrowed and she started walking towards the lab where the young medic spent most of his time.
She would tail him, find his weakest moment, and knock him out before he noticed she was there.
~BHBL~
Kaede spent the next two days following Kabuto around the hideout without his knowledge, which was difficult as he almost caught her multiple times. She knew as a former spy he would be on constant alert so she always stayed where he could see, hear or even smell her. Now she was stood outside his lab, looking into the room from side of the doorframe, making a mental note about how many hours he spent alone in the confined space before he was visited by the other shinobi in the village for medicine or healing.
Roughly five to six hours, on a good day, three to four on a bad day.
Though it wasn't a massive gap, it was more than enough time for Orochimaru to die slowly from a painful poison Kabuto had cooked up, without anyone noticing that the medic was out of commission. Luckily she knew which of his many cabinets held the most potent elixirs, as she had watched him experiment on multiple people with said vials of death.
The former Suna kunoichi's lips curled back with a dark grin and she turned to leave. However, with the speed she moved, she didn't see who was stood behind her until she slammed face-first into a solid chest before she staggered back a little and hissed, holding her nose. "What are you doing here, Firecracker?"
Her blood ran cold at the sound of a familiar voice and she looked up to see Orochimaru stood there in his yukata, arms bandaged and eyes leering down at her with a heavy sense of suspicion.
'Crap!'
The redhead was quick to put on a false grin, similar to the one she just wore, only less...Threatening. "Not that it's your business, Snake Eyes, but I needed t'see if Kabuto could take a look at my arm!" She pointed to the burned skin that was starting to heal but still looked rather painful. "I burned it a couple days ago, and I ain't able t'draw as much Chakra out of my hand because of it!"
The Sannin stared down at her, his expression unwavering for just a moment before he closed his eyes and chuckled. "Of course." He opened them again and stepped out of the way, watching as the redhead he had stumbled into walked away from him and covered the burn with her sleeve, holding it down until she turned the corner and was out of sight.
Though he had accepted her blatant lie, he knew better than to trust her, he had caught her peeking into the lab quite some time ago and she hadn't budged for a couple of hours. She had not gone for a check-up, if anything, he suspected she may finally tip the balance and fall from the high ambition she had set for herself so long ago.
He knew she was plotting something, and he would be ready for the storm when it came.
A/N: Please review, all comments will assist me in becoming a better writer.
I hope this chapter was interesting enough, and the next one will be out soon~
Japanese = English
Futon: Daitoppa = Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
Katon: Kasai Suīpu = Fire Release: Fire Sweep
Sunagakure = Hidden Sand Village
Otogakure = Hidden Sound Village
