Chapter 33: The Worst Mission


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've got a new chapter for you here today! I want to thank one of my regular reviewers The_Legendary_Zoruark for motivating me with their wonderful responses to my work. (I hope I got the name right.)

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!


All Kaede could see was the inside of her eyelids, a black, inky abyss as she kept her concentration and focused on her own Chakra, feeling it swirl through her body like a river, which was an odd analogy for the water-impaired experiment. However, that is what she chose to call it, as she took a deep breath and let her senses take control, allowing her to feel the Chakra move from her torso to her arms, then down to her wrists. She lifted her hands, without opening her eyes, and planted her fingertips together just as her inner power settled within them.

In a split second, the redhead's eyes snapped open and her cocoa colored orbs focused on a single spot in the room, she quickly moved her hands to form different signs, a blur of motion to anyone watching as each sign assisted her in performing her desired jutsu. When she was done, she slapped the final sign together with a clap of her flesh, and shouted into the echoing darkness surrounding her, only dimly lit by candles, making little difference.

"Katon: Taifū o Moyasu!"

She inhaled deeply and spat a torrent of burning flames into the air without moving, having practiced melding her Chakra elements together to fuse the jutsu into one, without the need of calling out the two jutsu names that made up the burning typhoon. Another new trick she had managed to pull off was being able to twist the flames into a tornado of heat without having to run around in a circle, greatly lowering her stamina usage when in battle, in case she had to engage in Taijutsu with an opponent.

However, despite having gained control of the flame's current, she still had a long way to go as her eyes narrowed and she tried to use her Chakra to move the entire typhoon in any direction she wished, but instead, her control broke. "Ah crap!" She yelped in surprise, jumping up and onto the head of the highest snake statue to avoid the eruption of flames covering the floor, scorching the stone.

After a moment, the redhead sighed and slumped into a sitting position on the statue's nose, glaring down at the mess she had made. It took a lot of her Chakra to try and pull off that move, and this was the third time today she had attempted it, meaning she was reaching her limit, vision blurring slightly with exhaustion. "Just as I think I'm getting better..." She grumbled, massaging the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her tired eyes shut. "Ugh, I'm getting old."

But instead of taking that much-needed break, she took a deep, sharp breath and slapped her hands on the statue's nose, lifting herself to her feet as she prepared to try again, and maybe even a fifth time after if she could find it in herself to push that far.

"Hm, hm, you underestimate your limits, Firecracker~!"

Kaede made a surprised noise as she spun around to see Orochimaru stood right behind her, then in an attempt to put some space between them, she stepped back, and slipped off the head of the snake. "Careful." The Sannin's ice cold hand clamped around her own when she reached out, out of instinct. She was now hanging there, one foot on the side of the stone snout, while her other foot hung in the air, eyes wide in surprise. "We wouldn't want you getting hurt now, would we~?"

"Tch, just get me up, y'asshole!" Kaede sneered, her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment, irritated by his sudden appearance and arrogant words. He chuckled and did just that, lifting her with ease until she stood right in front of him, steady and safe from harm. "Y'need t'wear a bell or something, Snake-Eyes..." The redhead grumbled as she jumped onto a different snake's head, still close enough to hear, but far enough away to put some space between them.

It disgusted her that she could still feel his icy grip on her hand, even after he let go.

"I believe it is you who needs to sharpen your senses, Kaede-chan~!" Orochimaru stated, crossing his arms as one corner of his mouth tilted upwards in a cocky smirk. "I see you've let your guard down over time, why else would you not sense me entering the room?"

"Tch, don't flatter yourself! As if I'd ever get comfortable in this hellhole! If I had anywhere else t'go, trust me, I'd be long gone by now!"

"Hm, hm, oh I don't doubt that...You were never one for confinement."

"Oh I wonder what gave that away?!"

Orochimaru chuckled and looked down at the scorch marks left on the floor of his lovely training hall. "I see you've been using your time in this room well, though your Chakra control leaves much to be desired." He flashed her an amused grin. "Though I doubt you want my input since you've made it quite clear how little you respect my authority~!"

Kaede grinned and glared at him as if warning him that pushing the wrong buttons would get him into a fight, even if it was just a spar. "Y'really think insulting my Ninjutsu skills is the right way t'ask if y'can train me, Snake-Eyes? Take your offer and shove it up your ass, I'm fine on my own~!"

"Hm, hm, hm, I can see that." He glanced at the scorch marks again and Kaede's grin fell when she followed his gaze and remembered her blunder. Sensing her desire to change the conversation topic, he planted a hand on his hip and held the other one up in a dismissive shrug. "But I digress, I'm not here to 'offer my expertise,' no, I'm here to commend you on your performance against that kunoichi you faced last week."

"Wait..." Kaede paused and looked back at him suspiciously. "You're...Praising me?" Her eyes narrowed and she sneered, not trusting a single thing he said, despite him having praised her before. "What're y'getting at? I ain't a fool, y'usually talk like that when y'want something from me..."

Orochimaru laughed cynically and tilted his head to the side with a knowing smirk. "Your senses may have been dulled, but your intuition is as sharper than ever, it seems~!" He shrugged and dropped his other hand to his free hip. "Very well, I'll get to the point...I have a new mission for you, one that will grant you the freedom you desire more than anything else."

Kaede's eyes widened with surprise, she had expected to get her chance to reform the trust he once had in her within the next few months, but not one week after her last outing! Her expression hardened again and she turned to face him more, crossing her arms as her brows knitted together tightly. "I'm listening..."

"Hm, hm, I thought you would~!" Orochimaru's pupils turned to mere slits as his expression turned dangerous, an unrivaled rage hidden beneath a calm surface. "As you know, Konohagakure has found a means of locating us through an unknown source..."

"Yeah, what of it? Y'want me t'go to Konoha and get rid of their info?" Kaede arched a brow. "'Cause unless we know the source, won't they just keep getting more?"

"Those 'beauty sleep' regimes you've been keeping up with have done more than strengthen your outer appearance, it seems~!" Orochimaru's evil cackle echoed and he closed his eyes for a moment. "However, you were only half-correct...I want you to find and destroy information, but not in Konoha...No..."

Those eyes of his snapped open, wide and manic with veins splayed around the edges, an insane look for an insane person. "I want you to infiltrate Sunagakure, the source of their information, and rid them of any traces of my location and secrets!"

Everything went cold, even Kaede's own blood, which usually boiled, the icy sense of realization caused her to shiver and her spine to turn rigid in surprise. Her expression gave away everything she was thinking, much to her leader's amusement, and she could not quite believe she had heard him correctly.

Sunagakure...

He wanted her to go back to Sungakure...And destroy what little evidence she would have to prove she was captured and where she was kept?!

No...No! She could not do that, she could not go back, let alone betray everything she once was for what she was now!

Anger warped her aging appearance and she ground her teeth together, skin forming a soft glow as she clenched her fists, dropping them to her sides. "Are y'being serious?! Y'want me, the one person who wanted y'dead more than anyone else, t'go back home, just t'save your scrawny ass from being caught?!"

"Yes." His aura turned dangerous, and she could almost feel the snake in him rearing up for the kill, so much so that she actually stepped back to put some distance between them. "And you will do as I say, unless you wish to spend your remaining days in the same confinement chamber you hate so very much!"

He saw her entire body tense up further, and his dangerous glare turned to a malicious grin, fangs visible in the candlelight. He knew he had her there. "I will give you twenty-four hours to make up your mind...Consider it a test of your loyalty~! If you infiltrate your former village and do as I 'ask', you will be granted access to the outside world, along with any other benefits a Jounin of my village would recieve...No more locked doors, no more empty halls, just your freedom, within reason of course."

With that, his body began to sink into the snout of the statue he stood on, still watching her every move without blinking once. "I would consider your options carefully...I am not a generous man, and will not offer you this opportunity again...Prove your loyalty, or rot behind these stone walls..." His eyes were all that remained for a moment. "Your choice." And then he was gone, leaving Kaede alone with this new information and the horrible reality of what she had to do if she chose to do it.

Rage simmered over and she let out a vicious roar, spinning around as her skin sparked, only to slam her fist into the statue he loved dearly, hearing the skin tear and blood splatter against the stone surface which cracked slightly. She took heavy breaths as the pain brought her back from the brink of erupting into flames, leaving her a glowing mess of emotion with wide eyes and teeth clenched tightly together.

"Son of a bitch!" She roared, punching the surface a few more times before the glowing finally faded and she dropped to her knees, glaring down at the smooth snout she stood on, tears pricking her eyes as her mind swirled with confusing, contradicting thoughts.

Could she do it? Could she really turn her back on what little hope remained in her mind, and actually commit to the village she hated more than anywhere else in the world? Could she finally rid herself of the horrible sinking feeling of losing her family, by cutting them out of her life forever?

Could she afford to refuse and suffer in that glass cell she lived in for a decade of her life?!

The thought of returning to that box of torture made her shudder in fear and disgust and she clicked her tongue as the confused tears fell from her eyes, which she clenched shut in an attempt to stop them. Curse after curse left her as she kept hitting the wall, and eventually, the pain of the action grew so bad that she tucked the injured limb against her chest as it bled sluggishly. She just sat there, internally screaming over what fate had dealt her.

Could she really do this? Did she really have a choice?

Without realizing it, she tightened her fist and hissed as pain shocked her system and pulled her out of her rage-filled internal argument. She looked down at her bloody fist and stared at the torn skin of her knuckles. Great, now she had to go to Kabuto and get it healed, either that or bandage it up and pretend it never happened.

Silence passed for a moment as she weighed the options and she sighed, standing and jumping down off the snake's snout, landing silently, as a ninja should. She then walked over to the First Aid kit that was always hanging around and opened it. she took some rubbing alcohol and cleaned the wounds, letting out a few expletives in response to the pain, before she wrapped the stinging flesh in a thin gauze to cover the injuries she had caused herself.

Once she was done, she clenched her fist several times to ensure she could still use jutsu without the gauze hindering her movements, despite blood leaking into the fabric already, and let out a heavy breath. It was better to be left with a reminder of what she might have to do, than deal with Kabuto and his incessant comments about her attitude and options. It was already hard enough hearing the harsh truth from the Sannin asshole himself, let alone from his lackey.

'I've got two choices, I don't need that snot-nosed, suck-up telling me what I already know.' She thought to herself as her eyes hardened, her serious side showing blatantly as she crouched down to collect her coat and sandals. If she had twenty-four hours to come up with her decision, she was going to be alone for that and make up her mind properly.

This would change her entire life from this moment on, would she turn on the place that once treated her as their own, or would she stay loyal to the tiny spark of hope she had, and rot in a cell for the rest of her life?

Decisions, decisions...

~BHBL~

Wooden sandals clacked against the stone floors of the underground hideout, as the defiant redhead walked the halls, her footsteps echoing as she stared straight ahead with conviction written across her tired features. The past twenty-four hours had come and gone quickly, yet felt like an eternity to her and her alone. With the conscious decision of what to do weighing heavily on her mind, she had not slept a wink, but had finally come to a decision of what she should do.

She stopped by the door to Orochimaru's study, and knocked hard, barely containing her tense hatred as she heard the devious voice of her enemy call out from the other side. "Enter." With a deep breath, she took the handle and opened it, walking in and closing it behind her without a word. "Ah, Kaede-chan~! Remarkably, you're right on time."

Orochimaru sat before her, his knuckles pressed against the underside of his chin as a resting smirk welcomed her. His eyes danced with knowing, he had purposely chosen these two options for her, because he knew which one she would opt for in the end, whether she agreed with it or not. Now was the time to test if his theory was correct.

"Am I right to assume you've made your decision?" He asked.

Kaede paused, still facing the door as her dark, hate-filled eyes glared at the wooden surface for a moment before she turned and fixed that look onto him, which in turn caused him to raise a brow curiously. "Y'swear t'me that I get t'keep my freedom if I do this?" She asked, voice rough with the lack of sleep and the emotional breakdowns that had occurred during the course of her time thinking over her options.

Orochimaru's smirk widened and his eyes danced with amusement, gleefully enjoying her reactions to his words. "Yes. If you are successful, you will be granted your freedom, and the threat of being confined will be taken off the table, permanently."

Silence passed for a moment, Kaede's breathing getting slightly heavier as she just started to feel the pressure of her own choices. She clenched her fist and Orochimaru looked down, arching a brow at the sight of her bandaged knuckles.

"Alright, fine."

Oh that's what he wanted to hear, his eyes widened and he licked his lips, enjoying her compliance to his wishes far more than anything he had as of late. Even he was not aware that the thought brought more enjoyment than the thought of Sasuke becoming his next vessel. His thrill was only enhanced when she averted her gaze, pain festering just under the surface, enough to be seen, but not felt.

"Hm, hm, hm, excellent. I knew you would see things my way." Orochimaru looked over at Kabuto, who nodded and left the room to collect the supplies put aside for this mission alone. "Now, as you know, Sungakure has a main base of operations in the centre of the city...That is where the information is being stored." The Sannin lifted his hand and the same red, white and black snake from before slithered out and onto his palm, flicking its tongue cutely at the woman it recognized. "I believe you remember this snake, correct?"

Kaede looked at the small serpent for a second, her lips quirking upwards slightly as she remembered its brave acts during her fight against the four-man cell Konoha had sent. "Yeah, it scared the crap out of me when I was trying t'sleep~."

"Hm, hm, well now he comes equipped with the knowledge and layout of the current Sungakure landscape." The snake slithered down Orochimaru's arm and then down his leg and onto the ground, before making its way over to the redhead that crouched down with her arm outstretched for it to traverse up. She watched silently as it coiled around her bicep beneath her sleeve, flicking its tongue at her as if saying 'thanks.' "He knows every scent that passed through that area, even that of the ninja there, he will be a valuable asset towards your success."

"So y'want me to take a tiny snake into a village full of hostile ninja, without any backup, or anything remotely helpful if we get caught?" Kaede arched a brow and Orochimaru laughed softly.

"I trust that you're all I need to guarantee our success. Failure is not an option, and you know the consequences of wronging me..." His eyes shined with hidden danger, and she nodded once, knowing full well that death awaited if she failed. "You understand Suna more than anyone else in this village, destroy that information, and return without being followed...That is your mission."

Kaede was silent for a moment as the memories of her family, her friends, everything she knew, flashed behind her eyelids, causing her throat to form a lump, which she swallowed in an attempt to force the tears back before they appeared. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama." She turned and paused when Kabuto opened the door and held out a rucksack filled with what she would need. She stared at it, then snatched it quickly, before walking out of the room and slamming the door shut behind her.

It was quiet for a moment as the two processed her reaction, then Kabuto spoke, breaking the silence. "Do you really believe she'll do as you say, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru's serious expression, which had shown when she paused after he had given his order, curled back into a smirk as he lowered his hand from his chin and drummed his fingers on the wooden armrest of his throne. "She spoke with conviction and a sense of duty...Things she wouldn't normally do if she didn't take a mission seriously." His smirk turned into a grin and he chuckled. "The beast has been tamed, she will succeed and return with the results we desire."

Unlike her training, he had gained full control of the flames and their embers burned brighter and hotter than ever before.

~BHBL~

Kaede walked through the forest, not wanting to use up too much of her energy on traversing through the trees during her long travel. Her mind flooded with her decision and the reasons she chose the path she now trudged down reluctantly.

The reason she had chosen to abandon the final spark of her hope to follow the man she hated was because that hope had been flickering more and more over the series of events that followed once she was convicted of a crime she did not commit. Sunagakure tried to capture her and kill her, while Orochimaru had saved her life on several different occasions. Though she hated him with every fiber of her being, Otogakure was the only place left in the world willing to accept her for what she was, a hot-blooded murderer that felt nothing but pain and loneliness.

Why should she spend her life following a village that left her to rot, when she could retain her freedom and at least live half the life she wanted for herself back when she was trapped in the glass containment cell for a full decade of her life?

Her dream of one day returning home had been crushed by many factors, her village's accusations, her inability to kill Orochimaru, and her part in the murder of the Third Hokage...Why chase a dream when reality was the path she had been following for so long?

Never again would she ally herself to Sunagakure, and if this was the only way she could finally move on and cut ties with them forever, then...

So be it.


A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please review, so I can improve as a writer, and keep making the content you guys enjoy!

Japanese = English

Katon: Taifū o Moyasu = Fire Release: Burning Typhoon

Konohagakure = Hidden Leaf Village

Sungakure = Hidden Sand Village

Otogakure = Hidden Sound Village