Chapter 38 - Confrontation


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 told you I'd be too inspired to stop the chapter train, right?

It's shorter than any of the others, but it is IMPORTANT!

Enjoy!


Kaede sat on her bed with her legs crossed, robe abandonned as she turned the page to one of the many journals she had leafed through over the past two weeks, her brown, intrigued eyes scanning each word like they held the secret to eternal youth. Starting this journal, she expected to see a lot of Orochimaru's life and was prepared not to let herself be influenced by the words upon the page.

However now, as she read the part where Orochimaru met Kabuto, she could not quite muster the feeling of disgust towards how he ended up where he was. No, instead she felt empathy twisting in her gut that she wished she could ignore. Orochimaru had lost people close to him, just as she had, was abandonned by his village, just as she had been, and became cold and ruthless, just as she was now.

There was only one difference between the fiery redhead and the Sannin...Her pain, her suffering, her loss, was all caused by him. Though she knew that, and would never be able to forgive him, she was starting to see now just why he had chosen the path he did.

But before she could put the remainder of her thoughts into words, her bedroom door flung open with a heavy, aggressive kick, and she looked up with wide eyes as Orochimaru stood there, hair flipping in the updraft caused by the sudden swing. His eyes were sharp and dangerous, his entire being radiating murderous intent as he looked from her shocked expression down to the book in her hands, which she snapped shut immediately in her panic.

The Sannin's lips curled back visciously and without wasting a breath, he thrust out his hand and a snake, much larger than the ones she had seen wandering the hideout, burst out from his sleeve and slithered towards her at an inhuman speed. Before she could do anything to stop it, barely able to move, let alone react, the serpent coiled around her neck and tightened its grip until she gagged, feeling its strong weight crushing her windpipe.

"You have tested my patience for the last time!" The older, more dangerous man hissed out, watching as he lifted her into the air, glaring her down as she struggled to loosen his hold so she could breathe. "To think, after all the chances I've given you to prove your loyalty, you would continue to defy me...!"

Kaede let out a choked cry as the grip around her throat tightened and she watched her vision blur around the edges. If this kept going, she would die, and unlike the other times, Orochimaru had threatened her, this time she felt like he would actually follow through with his promise. "W-!" She tried to force out, but no words would leave her throat, blocked by the crushing force against her neck.

"I believed you would be a valuable asset to my village, that you would prove yourself worthy to be more than just a sacrificial pawn, like most of my subordinates!" The Sannin ground his teeth together, then hunched forward and gagged, the hilt of the Kusanagi blade slipping out of his mouth, which he took with his free hand.

The redhead's eyes widened as she watched the Otokage pull the sword free of his throat and flicked it off to the side to detach any bile that may reside on its sharp metal surface. Fear began to pump through her veins, and her body tingled with the adrenaline she felt rushing through her.

This was it, she was going to die, and there was nothing she could do to stop it! She should never have read those books, never have let her curiosity get the better of her.

It was over.

"Yet you continue to disappoint me!" Orochimaru clenched his fist around the hilt of the blade, eyes glowing maliciously in the candlelight. "I should have killed you the moment you escaped your cell!"

The Sannin kicked off from the doorway, angling the sword back so he could deliver a swift blow to the heart. Tears pooled in Kaede's eyes as she squeezed them shut and tried as hard as she could to force words out of her mouth.

She did not know what she could say, but anything that would halt his advance would be better than dying, after everything she had been through.

"I-I UNDER-STA-AND...!"

Ninja sandals scraped against the stone floor as the older shinobi skidded to a halt, still poised to attack as his wide eyes locked with her features. Her arms fell from the snake as she tried to gasp for breath, on the verge of collapsing, vision dim and hearing dull. However, even then he could see, he could feel the honesty in her words.

With a sharp sound of irritation, the snake loosened its grip and Kaede fell to her knees, inhaling deeply before she coughed and sputtered, her lungs drinking in the sweet air around her. "Speak, you're on borrowed time and you'd be wise not to waste it..."

Kaede looked up from the floor, tears building in the corner of her eyes as she took one breath after another with her hand gently cupping the purple bruise around her neck. After a second, she managed to rasp out a response. "I-I get it, alright...? Hah, I...I understand why y'tried t'find immortality...I-If I could find a way t'stop people I care about dying, hah...I-I'd do it too, no questions a-asked!"

The Sannin stared down at her, his snake-like orbs portraying such a manic fury that the veins splayed around the edges became visible. However, he could not bring himself to speak, to tell her how stupid she was for believing he would create such a jutsu for the sake of others.

His fangs clenched tightly together, gleaming in the orange glow of the candle's flame as he took two steps towards her, which made her flinch back, as she assumed he would continue where he left off with her imminent death. However, she watched in surprise as he snatched the book off her bed and turned to leave.

"If you value your pitiful existence, you will make yourself scarce and steer clear of my possessions, should you wish to remain alive even just a little longer!" He glanced back at her, voice dripping with an obvious warning. "You're still on borrowed time, I will not hesitate to steal it from you...!"

Then he left, stomping out of the room and down the corridor, while Kaede remained on her knees, breathing deeply through her nose as she stroked her sore throat. However, it was not the events of his aggression that plagued her addled mind as she stared at the ground. No, instead her mind was flooded with his memories, everything she had read along with everything she had seen until this very moment.

With her admittance of understanding his motives, that voice that had constantly screamed that he had no heart, no soul worth redemption, began to die down until nothing but a soft whisper remained. Without it, the room was deathly silent and Kaede's other hand gripped the stone fearfully as a result.

How could she continue to assume he had no soul if she herself would do the same thing in his shoes?


A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! Please review, let me know what you think of my work!

Japanese = English

Otogakure = Hidden Sound Village

Otokage = Sound Shadow