Chapter 29: The Training Begins
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!
At this point, I also want to point out that the relationship between these two characters is actually toxic if you are in a similar situation please seek help, it is not healthy and it won't end the same way this story will end.
I do not condone these kinds of relationships, despite writing this story.
Hey guys, I'm actually surprised at how fast I got this chapter out, considering my schedule and the second story I have ongoing. (This story is still the priority though, so I've worked on it more.) It isn't a long one, but it's the first of many chapters that don't involve anime episodes in them, so they should be much faster to write!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Despite the new arrival to their humble hideout, things had barely changed in Otogakure, and the nights were just as quiet and unsettling as ever before in the woods surrounding their underground base. Of course, Kaede had long since gotten used to the silence as she stepped out of her room without her robe or sandals on, closing the door and rolling her shoulder with her hand against it as she prepared herself mentally for the training she planned to do.
It was a simple training regime, she would spend a good hour or two working on her lacking Taijutsu skills, then another two hours working on her new jutsu, the Katon: Taifū o Moyasu so it could be used on faster, even more, formidable opponents than Orochimaru. Of course, this thought made her pause as she traversed the halls to find the training hall, never had she expected to use this jutsu on anyone else.
Hell, it had only been a month since she had tried to take his life, and already she was thinking of different uses for her powers other than the revenge that had plagued her mind for a decade prior. It was strange how quickly life could surprise someone.
With a click of the tongue and a shake of the head, pushing those uncomfortable thoughts from her mind, she finally reached the training hall and stepped inside, only to stop when she saw their newest member, Uchiha Sasuke, stood dead-centre in the room, tossing shurikens at a wooden post against the far left wall. He was probably working on his Sharingan's precision, considering he was using his Kekkei Genkai, despite not having an opponent.
Once again, she was surprised when she realized she had not actually introduced herself to the boy yet, hell, she had barely interacted with him past a glance and maybe a mumbled 'hey' after her training was done and he took over using the hall for his own practices.
Though she was not comfortable making idle conversation with someone who chose to be in Orochimaru's company, she took a heavy breath, then stepped inside, catching his attention and forcing him to halt his training to acknowledge her. "Hey, you're Uchiha Sasuke, right?"
"What's it to you?" He asked, looking at her suspiciously. She assumed he did not recognise her from the Chuunin Exams, or just did not care, but she did not let this fact wound her pride. Not that she had much pride left anyway.
"Nothing much, I just thought I'd introduce myself." She stated, placing a hand on her hip as she grinned and held out a hand for him to shake. "The name's Mari Kaede, y'faced me during the Chuunin Exams, I went by Akari for that mission, so y'may not recognize me much!"
Sasuke stared at her, then her hand, then back at her face for a moment before he turned back to his previous task, continuing to toss the shurikens at the wooden post, only missing once or twice in the flurry of metal flying blades. "I don't care." He said simply. "Get lost, I'm busy."
Kaede's eyebrows knitted together and her grin turned sharp, if this had been a manga, she would have had an angry symbol over her head. "Heh, y'shouldn't speak t'your superiors like that, kid." She countered, a bite in her tone, a sense of scolding she never used. "Ever heard of respecting your elders?"
Sasuke was quick to shoot her the same glare he gave Kabuto when he first arrived, but unlike the white-haired medic, Kaede barely reacted to it, the only indication that she even noticed being the small arch of her brow and the unimpressed frown on her lips. "Am I supposed t'be scared?"
The young boy clicked his tongue and turned away from her again, only for her to grab his attention once more when she pointed at the symbol on his blue shirt. "You're one of the few survivors of your clan, aren't you?" She asked, as he turned and listened in silence. "Heh, I know all about your Katon abilities, most villages are taught about that clan when they start the academy, 'cause of their strength and the history behind them." She stroked her chin and grinned as she looked him over. "Got t'say though, seeing an Uchiha in the flesh, I think the Mari clan's Katon abilities trump your's right now~"
The young genius' eyes narrowed with irritation and he looked her up and down in the same, if not in a more aggressively, judgemental way. "I've seen your jutsu. You're nothing special." He sneered, causing her grin to falter from the insult.
Okay, technically she started that, but that response made her hate this kid just a little more than she expected she would. "Tch! Don't underestimate me, brat!" She snapped back, to which he arched his own brow, reminded vividly of his former best friend. "I was just lowering my chakra strength so I didn't blow my cover on that damn mission! I'm far stronger than that!"
He gave her the same look she had given him when he had tried to intimidate her with a glare, and she scoffed. "Y'want proof?" She asked, stepping forward towards the wooden post he was using. "Fine, I'll give y'proof!"
The Ninjutsu expert created seals with her hands faster than any normal Chuunin could, as she was at a Jounin level, far exceeding the abilities she had shown him during the exams. She inhaled deeply, then spat a giant, scorching fireball at the wooden beam. Sasuke was not impressed, however soon that bored expression slipped into shock when she leaned back again, puffed up her cheeks once more, and spat a second one straight after. Which managed to retain the same size and power as the first one, despite her lungs being fit to burst from the powerful flames.
Kaede stood there, staring at the remains of the wooden post, which was nothing but a pile of ashes and scalding hot metal stars littering the floor. She was taking deep breaths, but the spark in her eye proved she still had a lot of strength left to display. "Heh." She huffed out, straightening up and turning to face the young, awestruck teen with her hands on her hips. "The trick t'spitting two fireballs of the same size is t'build up as much Chakra as y'can, then make the first fireball and use the leftover Chakra t'draw in more from y'body and spit out a second one without needing to take another breath!"
When she saw that Sasuke had listened intently to her words, and seemed more motivated to train than before, she grinned with a beaming sense of pride and walked away, giving him a lazy wave as she did so. 'I'll give him the training hall for the day. The kid needs it more than I do~.'
Just as she turned from the wave to leave the room, she stopped merely an inch from a solid chest, able to catch herself instead of slamming face first into it once again. She quickly looked up and stared with wide eyes as the familiar white face of her sworn nemesis idly watched her with a long smirk. His bandages were gone, and his former black hair and long bangs had returned, giving him that oh-so-familiar appearance she had seen many times prior to his transfer.
"Hm, hm, is something the matter, Firecracker?" The cocky Sannin asked with a light, amused tone, however, Kaede did not respond as she snapped out of her shock and just barged past him, leaving the two alone in the training room. Her reactions never ceased to entertain him, even in silence. He turned his attention to Sasuke who was now working on creating multiple giant fireballs at a time, and then glanced back at the corridor his defiant subordinate had traversed down.
Perhaps, in the future, when her loyalty had been certified and tested, she would be a good tutor for Sasuke...Her Katon jutsu still surpassed both the young Uchiha survivors, however he knew until she was thoroughly observed, he could not trust her not to consider the idea of killing his dream vessel to spite him, so for now, he would keep the idea firmly tucked to the back of his mind until the time was right.
With her improved Chakra control, Katon capabilities, and loyalty he would have the ultimate pawn for his plans, and one who could strengthen his container during the time he was unable to transfer. Both were appealing and brought a sinister grin to his lips.
Now all he needed was to be patient for the time being.
~BHBL~
It was maybe, two or three hours later, and Kaede was stood at the entrance to the hideout, where two large sealed doors stood between her and the cool, peaceful forest she wanted to relax in. She was starting to feel stir-crazy from seeing the same rooms, walls and candle-lit abyss she had been confined to, and wanted a change of scenery, that small sense of freedom she had before she ruined everything with her reckless plans for revenge.
With a half-hearted tug, she tested the doors, which did not budge, as she had expected. The redhead let out a sigh and glared at the wooden barriers between her and freedom. "Figures...He can't just make empty threats, like a normal person, can he?" She mumbled begrudgingly as she turned to walk back down the hall.
However, when she spun around, she almost jumped out of her skin and actually yelped in surprise at the sight of a white-haired medic standing mere feet away from her, with his hands tucked firmly behind his back. "Aagh! Y'asshole, y'scared the crap out of me!" She snapped, glaring at him as she placed her hand on her thumping heart, hating the amused smirk that tugged at his lips as the light hid his eyes from view behind his glasses. "What're y'doing following me around like that!"
"Strange that such a small surprise would cause such a violent reaction out of you, considering everything you've been through and your 'training' as a kunoichi, didn't you once sense Orochimaru's presence and jumped in to attack? I'm surprised you didn't hear my approach." Kabuto stated, pushing his frames up his nose, revealing his distrusting, black eyes. "and I didn't intend to follow you...I merely saw you walking this way and kept an eye on your movements in case you tried to make any foolish attempts to escape. Orochimaru-sama's punishments are quite...strict, and defying them can be fatal. I suggest you consider stepping away from the doors and return to your usual schedule."
Kaede's expression sharpened into a knowing glare, she knew she should have been more alert of her surroundings, but as she had been banned from active duty, nor had access to the training hall to keep her abilities and senses sharp, she was starting to lose her edge over time. "Tch, I don't need you lecturing me." She said as she walked past him, not taking her eyes off of him for even a second. "I'll decide what I do and when, just keep worrying 'bout yourself, like usual and leave my business alone."
"It is words like that, that make it hard to trust your motives."
"Yeah, well, it's not like anyone else here's up for sharing, is it?" She countered, to which he did not respond, she had a point, after all. Otogakure was a very secretive village.
Satisfied that she had won the argument, she smirked and started walking down the hall towards her bedroom, musing different things she could do to pass the time until she gained the opportunity to re-attain her freedom. She could take a nap, train, read her precious book, maybe even make herself some food and just eat to her heart's content...But she had been doing that for most of the time she was awake, and it was starting to get dull.
Honestly, she just wanted to get into a fight that made her heart race and reminded her of how exciting life could be. She wanted to live, not wallow in self-pity and wait for someone to decide her fate for her.
As she traversed down the dark hallways, a shock of blue hair passed her and she focused on it absent-mindedly. It was Sasuke, bruised and bloody from his heavy training with Orochimaru, searching for Kabuto's lab for healing. He looked a lot worse for wear than she had expected, the snake-eyed shinobi really did not pull any punches, did he?
She faltered mid-step as an idea slipped into her mind during that small musing. What if she asked Orochimaru to spar with her? The thought was not a foolish one, he was a powerful opponent that would give her the rush of adrenaline she craved, and since he had full use of his arms once more, she doubted she could even do half the damage she had done to him during her attempt at ending his life.
The stubborn kunoichi shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut as she did so as if that would rid her mind of such thoughts in the future. 'Don't be an idiot.' She scolded herself, starting her stroll once again, eyes hard as she stared at the darkness before her. 'I ain't about t'ask the man I hate t'spar with me after losing the first serious fight I had with him, I've got more pride than that!'
But the session would give her an outlet for her energy and hone the skills she had been practising alone so they could be used against others in future battles. Irritated by her logical reasoning, she let out an angry growl, ground her teeth and sped up, heading towards her room so she could lie down and rid herself of the idea once and for all.
Hopefully, when she woke up, the hideout would be under attack so she could finally get herself out of this rut she had been stuck in for some time.
~BHBL~
Another week passed by with no big, dramatic event, and Kaede now stood in the kitchen, staring at the humming microwave oven as she waited for a curry to finish heating up so she could enjoy something spicy. Though it was quite a peaceful time within the dark, lightless hideout, the fiery redhead was bouncing her heel off the floor, gripping the counter with an irritated frown as she attempted to keep herself occupied for the sake of her sanity.
She was bored, and that boredom was edging towards stress. Though she had the freedom to move around the hidden building and do as she pleased within its walls, she was starting to feel the same suffocating sense of isolation and lack of purpose she had felt during her long confinement as an experiment. She glared at the window of the microwave, watching the packaging inside rotating slowly as her hardened expression darkened with every ticking second.
She needed to fight someone, whether it be Orochimaru or a Kage Bunshin, whatever, she just needed to expel her frustrations through her fists with a challenge involved. The idea of asking the Sannin for a sparring session swirled in her mind, again, and again, and again, and slowly, she felt her body tensing until it was wrung tight with suppressed aggression and determination.
And finally, when the machine chimed and the light inside shut off, instead of collecting her meal, she let out a sharp, hissed curse, slammed her fist off the counter and stomped out of the room in search of the training hall, leaving her meal for someone else to find later on, or once it started to smell, whichever came first.
She walked down the corridors with determination and it did not take long for her to find the room in question, where she paused and looked inside to see Orochimaru stood over Sasuke, who was down and out for the count, unable to lift himself after the strenuous training the Sannin had put him through. From this angle, he looked dissapointed in his student, as if that training session had been trivial and nothing more than a warm-up in his eyes.
Kaede shifted to step forward and stopped suddenly when a familiar pair of snake-like yellow orbs snapped up and met her brown ones with intense curiosity. That blank stare soon warped into a smirk as he crossed his arms, the snake he had summoned prior for the training, now vanishing in a puff of smoke, which made his hair sway slightly. "That'll be all today, Sasuke-kun...Seek out Kabuto for healing, I will not be so merciful tomorrow." He said with a sly tone, entertained by the idea that the redhead came to this room while he was inside when she spent a lot of her time avoiding his very being.
Sasuke would have complained if he had not looked up to see the tense expression upon the tanned woman's features and the way the room filled with a thick air of intense stress. It took him some time, but the boy was soon able to lift himself and hobbled out of the room to find the lab he spent many afternoons visiting as of late.
Once the genius of the Uchiha clan had left and was out of earshot, Orochimaru's smirk widened and he tilted his head to the side slightly, analyzing Kaede's body language. "This is quite the surprise, it's quite rare for you to seek me out with such a serious expression... Have you come to try another foolish attempt at ending my life, dear Firecracker?" He teased, grinning when her expression turned into a glare.
"Nah." She stated, letting her lips stretch into a grin, though her sharp, brown eyes gave away her irritation. She hated seeking him out as much as he hated cold food. "I was just looking for someone t'beat up. I'm kind of bored, and need someone to take my stress out on~."
Her grin mirrored on the Sannin's own features. He entertained the idea of sparring with someone powerful, especially after training a young Genin for many days without such a challenge presenting itself. "Hm, hm, very well. Don't expect me to go easy on you, like the last time we fought~!"
Kaede barked out a hard laugh and unclipped her robe, tossing it to the side before kicking her sandals off in the same direction. "Hah! Don't make me laugh, I ain't some weak Genin, I can take y'any time, easy ain't an option against me!"
"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyes turned to mere slits as he crouched into a fighting stance, fangs gleaming in the light of the candles filling the room. "Why not prove those words to be correct then? If you believe them so strongly~!"
"With pleasure!"
And with the trash talk out of the way, the younger of the two kicked off with her one-fanged grin spread wide. Orochimaru did the same, surprising her with his quick reflexes that came with his new, masculine legs. The two met in the middle with Kaede stood, legs spread wide and arms crossed in front of her as her opponent slammed his fist off the barrier she created with her own limbs.
However he did not let it end there, without giving her even a second to react, he dropped and swept his foot out, knocking her off her feet with ease. Her own reflexes were rusty, and he planned to take full advantage of that. Before she had time to hit the floor, he straightened up and punched her hard, sending her hurtling back into the wall on the far side of the room, where she fell to her knees, spitting blood from her bruised lip.
"Is that all you can offer, Kaede-chan?" Orochimaru asked she looked up, snarling as she used the back of her hand to wipe the blood from her lip.
"Y'really think this is all I've got?" She spat, standing up and dusting herself off, before she kicked off towards him once again, eyes wide as she felt the rush of the fight coming back to her. "I'm just getting started!" While she ran, she formed seals with her hands and inhaled deeply, spitting several small fireballs at him. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"
Orochimaru smirked and jumped several times in different manners to avoid the flaming balls of pain. They were child's play to him. However when he stopped and looked up, his eyes widened when three Kaede dopplegangers stood before him, each standing with a Kunai in one hand, and a smoke bomb in the other.
Clever trick...
Then suddenly, the right Kaede slammed the smoke bomb down into the ground and the other two vanished from sight, her opponent clicked his tongue, his smirk faltering for a moment as he looked around the room, listening for her approach. But instead, he heard a whoosh and turned in time to cross his arms in front of his face as three air bullets shot towards him. He let out a cry as one hit him head on, but he vanished just as the other two got close enough, leaving a couple of dead snakes behind.
The redhead, who had been stood behind him in secret, clicked her tongue but was finally starting to feel her reflexes sharpening up once again as she heard a soft scuff behind her and spun in time to catch Orochimaru's foot as he went to slam his calf into the back of her neck. The two locked eyes and Kaede grinned, gritting her teeth and letting out a roar as she used all of her strength to lift him over her shoulder and attempt to slam him into the ground.
However, just before there was an impact, his tongue was fired from his mouth and coiled around Kaede's neck, forcing her to let go, which in turn, gave Orochimaru the chance to yank hard, tugging her to the floor while he used the momentum to lift himself high into the air, before he let go and landed behind her fallen form effortlessly. Though she was being beaten, the woman let out an exhilarated laugh and spun quickly from her kneeling position on the floor, kicking off towards him at a speed he did not recognise.
His eyes were wide and they met as Kaede grew close, both expressions exact opposites of the other, Kaede's was a sly, strong smile, while for a moment, Orochimaru's was wide and surprised. Until her scarred knuckles slammed into his cheek and sent him barrelling off to the left, a bruise now etched onto his ghostly jaw.
Kaede landed on the floor with a heavy breath, she had used her Chakra to kick off, therefore giving the impression of intense speed, but it was quite draining, she could not afford to use it more, as Ninjutsu still took priority in her battles and she could not afford to waste her Chakra.
A dark chuckle caught her attention and she watched as the man on the ground got to his feet, hair covering his features for a second before a dark, leering grin came into view as he lifted his head to look at her. "Perhaps I underestimated your ability to adapt after being out of action for so long~." He stated simply. "No matter, the result of this battle with remain the same!"
"Y'don't know until y'try!" She retorted, kicking off at the same time he did, the two met in the middle with a flurry of blows, Kaede actually managing to block many of them despite her lacking Taijutsu skills. After all, she had trained hard since they last fought, however, she was still outmatched as Orochimaru kicked her in the stomach, forcing her to double over, then slammed his knee into her face which sent her flying into the air, and finally he jumped up and went to kick her, but she arched forward with a smirk and full cheeks, and he watched with wide-eyes, unable to react in time, as a stream of hot flames shot out of her mouth, engulfing his entire form.
Anguished cries of pain followed the scorching heat as Kaede landed further back and wiped her injured chin, breathing heavily as the adrenaline pumped through her veins, bringing back the exhilarated grin. She felt alive, truly alive, and it was excellent! That was what she needed, that was the trigger she required to settle her boredom and ease her impatience!
The flames simmered down and fizzled away leaving a scorched form on the ground, which, to no one's surprise, vanished into a puff of smoke, and Orochimaru jumped down from the large snake statue in the centre of the training hall. They both felt their breath starting to become laboured, though not truly exerted quite yet, and their body tingled with their blood pumping hard through their veins.
Kaede laughed softly and surprised the Sannin once again when she relaxed her posture and straightened up, flexing her bruised knuckles. "I think I'm 'bout done for today. I got a couple good hits in and managed t'vent, so I'm going t'stop here so I don't overdo it and get myself all worked up to a flaming mess!"
Neither had sustained serious injuries, Orochimaru had a bleeding wound on his arm that would heal naturally, a small burn on his other arm, and a bruise on his cheek, while Kaede had a scraped back from her hard hit against the wall, a bruised neck, and a bloody lip. Both would call that a light scuffle, not a full-on battle.
Yet, Kaede, the most reckless of the two, and the one to try and take his life prior this spar had ended it like she had done nothing more than quit a hard level in a video game.
"I've got t'say though," Kaede said as she walked past him and picked up her robe, slipping it on with ease. "Y'ain't as strong as I remember, your punches don't hit as hard as they used to." Her eyes gleamed with slight mocking as she lifted her head to grin at him, tugging her sash around her waist tight. "Still, at least y'can use your arms now! Y'ain't totally useless, I guess~."
Though she meant it as a taunt, a jeer made to irk him, because of her stressless tone, it almost sounded like a compliment.
Then without another word, the visibly calmer woman walked from the room holding her sandals in her hand, while Orochimaru stared after her with a curious frown, that slowly warped into a dark smirk as her words etched into his mind and a chuckle left his devious lips.
'Wonderful~!' He thought as he let his tongue slip past the barrier of his mouth and he licked his lips with wide, gleeful eyes. She had openly walked away from a situation where she could cause him harm, proving she no longer desired his death and was honestly just searching for an excuse to vent her frustration.
Though the speed she left his presence still showed that she hated his company and his entire being. That was not a problem, he did not care how she viewed him, but to know that she no longer wanted him dead, no longer dreamed of his head on a silver platter, made excitement rise inside of him.
He was one step closer to his end goal.
A/N: Please Review, all comments help me improve as a writer so I can strive for even better chapters in the future!
Japanese = English
Otogakure = Hidden Sound Village
Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu = Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique
Katon: Katon: Taifū o Moyasu = Fire Release: Burning Typhoon
Kawarimi no Jutsu = Replacement Technique
Sharingan = Mirror Wheel Eye
Kekkei Genkai = Bloodline Limit
