Hello! I'm not dead.

I'm sorry it took almost three years, my only excuse is that real life happened and adulting is hard. Forgive me?

Chapter 30: Lined with the scum of it

Jesus, Mary and her frickin' husband Joseph, what the fuck.

Bits of earth are flying through the air. The ground is shaking violently, there's that ungodly screech from The Worm and my eardrums are so close to bursting.

I'm not having a good time.

Fuck this evaluation. Fuck Orochimaru.

Crack.

Fuck my entire. Second. Life!

I feel the ground giving way a split second before I barely manage to throw myself to the side, the length of my body taking the full brunt of my none too gentle landing. Pain explodes and blooms from my ribs outwards, the sensation blending in with the noise around me. There's no time to be miserable, though. I'm already scrambling to get up again because the ground that I've been running on just a second ago is now gone. Bust. Disappeared.

And that's because -

- yeah, exactly. The Huge Fucking Worm. Screaming. Spitting acid slime.

What a mood. Minus the slime … maybe.

I pivot left and dash forward, the adrenaline incredibly effective at numbing anything that might hinder my flight and carrying me closer to the ominous supplies in the middle of the field. I really hope they help.

I can feel the ground rumbling again as that thing dives back in, tunneling straight through to lil ol' me.

Ok, ok, I need to calm down. I need to think. I need a plan.

I doubt I can run in circles forever since that thing might just have more stamina than I. Probably. Most certainly.

Fuck.

A plan, right.

First, I need a way to find out where the worm is. The vibrations of the ground are a good indicator for when the thing is directly under me but that's just a tad bit too late for practically anything. I need a pocket seismograph or a scanner, something that can go through rock and dirt or directly track The Thing itself, maybe via body heat or chak-

Chakra.

I can't believe I'm that fucking stupid.

I do have a built in chakra scanner, for fuck's sake.

Whoosh.

I've never been so wildly relieved to feel that chakra rush into my eyes or the usually nauseating sharpening of every contour right after. Incredible. I swivel around in a half pirouette and plant my feet down in a firm stand, my eyes trained on the ground.

Come here, fucker.

... oh boy, he's coming fast.

A huge mass of whirling pure-blue chakra is tunneling its way through to my position and barely a second passes before it's right underneath me again. This time, I manage a controlled jump and a roll right back on my feet - just in time to observe what actually happens the moment the thing breaks through.

It's loud. It's messy. It's actually much slower than expected. And most importantly: while it's spitting out its slimy acid balls in my direction, it's doing so stationary.

I could maybe make that work.

I'm running again before the worm disappears back into the ground, this time with a plan forming in my head. My next goal is to find out what the thing is vulnerable against and the brief window it's not moving is the perfect time. As for tools - I have shuriken, which I'm bad at, kunai, which I'm marginally less bad at, and my goukakyuu no jutsu, which so far hasn't failed to drain me of an enormous amount of chakra. Oh, and a mysterious pouch of supplies I still need to procure.

Ideal conditions. Here we go.

)()()( )()()(

"I exssspected more sssscreaming."

Orochimaru didn't deign to comment on that, his eyes and mind instead focused on the events happening behind the barrier.

Agatami slithered closer, apparently unaffected by his silence.

"To be quite honesssst, sssshe isn't doing too bad."

After she'd found out that she was trapped within a sealed barrier, it had seemed for a moment like panic had taken a hold of her, with chaotic dashes in whatever direction her feet took her and mad scrambling whenever they didn't - but then.

Then.

She had finally opened those beautiful eyes.

He felt a twinge of annoyance at how long it had taken her to remember that she had them.

They were not in as magnificent a state as the first time he'd seen them, and yet - they seemed to be pushing her movements to be more purposeful already. The signature precision and cleanliness of her clan's training began to shine through, having been drilled into her from the moment she could move and he watched, fascinated, as the girl transitioned from utterly uncoordinated floundering to something surprisingly close to strategizing, her eyes taking the lead in gathering and processing the data that the environment provided her with.

Would her mind be sharp enough to follow up?

)()()( )()()(

Run, jump, roll. Ready my shuriken, avoid the acid balls, hit that thing.

Now that there's structure in this, it's not actually that ba-

Splash

SHIT, that was close.

I take whatever I was going to think back. Gotta focus.

At the first opportunity that presents itself, I throw my shuriken. It's not my worst throw, considering I'm in constant motion - and ok yeah, the target has an adequate size - but they do take anxiety-inducingly long to whir through the air. And the moment they hit the worm -

Well, they don't do much, practically bouncing off its skin without leaving a scratch. I don't think the worm felt that. Crap.

Of course shuriken would be too easy. I'll just save myself the attempt with my kunai, I guess.

The creature goes back underground and I'm back to running, ever closer to that mysterious pouch of supplies.

How am I gonna make sure that pouch, wherever it actually is, isn't destroyed by the burrowing? And how am I gonna get it out? Is it even underground?

So many questions.

Video games make it seem so easy. The player only needs to figure out the pattern of the boss they're fighting and then it's all just a question of being able to handle the controller without getting cramps. Of course, there's a certain kind of rush to the fight when you really get into it, a thrill racing through and providing you with a feeling of triumph after beating the challenge. But after that, you usually are in a condition that will allow you to continue on with your life without any impairment.

After beating this creature here, I will probably need a vacation of at least three years. And that's only for getting close to the supply pouch.

But lo and behold, I finally made it. Scrambling on my hands and knees, my stamina running dangerously low, my eyes starting to throb and tear and to top it all off, The Worm not showing an ounce of fatigue. But - I made it.

I give my eyes a rest and deactivate the Sharingan, confident that I'm close to the finale now.

Aaand there's nothing here but a tree stump.

It's low, the trunk probably having been cut a long time ago, the surface worn down and almost smooth with nicely spaced out rings perfect for counting. Under any other circumstance, I might have considered sitting down on it to take a rest. It's a nice stump, it really is.

I just wish it wasn't raining acid around me right now. Or that I didn't feel like crying.

Where. Is that. Fucking. Pouch! It was promised to me, dammit! So where? Where?!

And why is there a random tree stump in the middle of the field? Where are its brethren? How come it's alone in the middle of worm-territory? Why is it perfectly cut instead of broken off? It makes no sense!

... unless -

Unless it's not a tree stump at all.

The worm has disappeared back into the ground, ready to burrow its way over to me again, which effectively leaves me with seconds to get away, lest I'll be smashed by the avalanche of soil.

I won't lose anything by trying.

I put my hand on the stump and, at the same time as I shout "Kai!", release a chakra pulse.

A puff of smoke clouds over my hands and even before it's dissipated, I can feel my fingers closing around cloth instead of wood.

Holy shite.

I think it worked.

Without getting a proper look at whatever it is, I press it to my chest and concentrate on getting out of the worm's way.

It feels light. But useful weapons don't have to be distinguishable by their mass.

I'm putting a lot of hope on the contents of this pouch. It better be useful.

After another round of acid rain I finally have a few precious seconds to open it. In situations like this I wish I was able to use doton jutsu - I mean, that earth igloo thing? Would be awesome right now. But I don't have that, so opening it while running and hoping I don't spill anything on the way it is.

Reaching inside, my fingers close around what feels like a handful of paper tags on strings. I pull them out and see that they are indeed paper tags on strings. Kibakufuda, three of them.

How the hell are these supposed to help me? My kunai left barely any scratches on that armor-like shell of the worm, and while I don't doubt that explosives do more damage than kunai, I don't think three are enough to make a real difference, at least not if I just throw them at it.

Yet another round of acid blobs pass by and I'm really starting to feel the burn and drain of the constant running. If I don't end this in the next minute or so I'll just collapse. Think, girl, think.

I risk a look over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of it disappearing back into the ground, the head sinking in last. It's pretty big and sporting a couple of antenna-like features, probably enhancing those seismic sensing abilities.

Hm.

If I damaged those, it could be disoriented enough for me to finish it off, maybe?

Not exactly a plan, but that's the best I got. To work then.

)()()(

Orochimaru was completely silent as he observed her preparing the kibakufuda. Two of them she attached to kunai while she held on to the third until the creature had nearly caught up to her again. She then slammed it on the ground and jumped out of the way.

The bomb went off at the exact moment the beast's head cracked through the ground.

He could hear its agonized howl from here and saw it writhing in pain as the rest of its ascent was thwarted. The girl didn't let up and threw both of her kunai in quick succession, hitting one of its tentacular extremities each. The combined explosion tipped the creature's balance over the edge, its body crashing sideways into the ground. Dust whirled up, obscuring most of the screen, but the fight was over. All that remained was to finish it off.

For a moment, she just stood a couple yards away, eyeing it suspiciously. When she was convinced that it posed no threat to her anymore, she went up to its head and Orochimaru moved, ready to join her and the beast's corpse.

Agatami didn't, however. She kept watching, waiting, and he was curious enough to ask.

"What is it?"

"She'sss not killing it," she remarked. "She'sss letting it go."

)()()(

"Why didn't you kill it?"

His student is lying flat on her back, completely exhausted, in the middle of a destroyed field and right next to a crater - and that's the first thing he says. Charming.

"The assignment was to survive," I answer, just a tiny bit cross. "It stopped hunting me so there was no reason to kill it." Also, it was probably just as trapped as me within that barrier you made, asshole.

He narrows his eyes.

"Get up."

Uh-oh. I didn't say that out loud, did I?!

I manage to suppress a suffering croak as I sit up, do not manage to hide a little stumble when I get on my feet, however.

He saw that, of course. I hope he is disappointed enough to abandon my mentorship so I can go ask if Sakumo is still interested.

I really, really miss Sakumo.

"You will learn to kill enemies that are of no use to you soon enough," he postulates, rather matter-of-factly. "For now, it is enough that you survived."

That… does not sound like disappointment. Whoa.

"You barely have any hold on your potential. However, I will see to it that you do, if you are willing to put in the work." He tilts his head, his yellow eyes fully focused on me. "Now tell me, little Uchiha. Are you willing?"

I -

A visceral feeling of my body shutting down and going into overdrive all at once takes over. My heart is racing and the world seems to sharpen with a pulse, shockwaves radiating off and making the particles of reality bend.

He asks if I'm willing?

He gives me a choice? With a decision as big as that?

That - that is -

Nobody has ever given me that.

Not my parents, not the Sandaime, not even Sakumo, and certainly not The Bureau and its stinking Old Ones.

How fucking ironic that the first time someone asks for my consent it's a guy that's going to betray everything and everyone he ever knew.

I swallow hard and stare up at his face, so calmly set and constantly evaluating the world around him. I suddenly can't bring myself to purposely see evilness in him.

Because someone is finally giving me the power to decide my own fate in a world where everyone's future is already decided. He is giving me that power.

And the craziest thing is… I do believe he genuinely means it.

He means it, and so do I when I tell him.

"I am willing, Sensei."