Chapter 17

00001000 / 00000101

8 / 5

Well, it's been years since I've written a combat scene. I was a little torn about how I was going to handle this scene and situation but settled on this. I hope you all enjoy it. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to leave a review or send me a message.

For any new readers that might be checking this out, I really suggest starting with Part 1 if you haven't already read it. I'm all about long term investments in characters and there is a trove of stuff that I've set up in part 1 and part 2 that is relevant in part 3 and will be relevant in part 4. If you have not read them, you might feel lost with some of the things going on or you might be missing out on the impact of some scenes.

As always, thank you to everyone who still takes the time to read this fanfic. I do it for my own enjoyment, but also because I like the idea of someone else getting to enjoy it as well.

Whatever Arashi had thought of the Exam being meticulous and well organized was shot down when she met Mitarashi Anko. The Genin were clustered together in their squads while keeping a distance from their soon to be enemies. Team 7 was nearby, but she made a point to not pay attention to them. Her fondness of them had no place there while she was on duty. If anything, she was too busy being perplexed as to why she could sense the Oto Jounin nearby.

I don't think it's against the rules to have a last-minute chat with your team, but that's still odd. She thought to herself. Where's Anko? I think I need to bring it up, at the very least, so we can get some eyes on him.

As soon as the two women made eye contact, the proctor barked out with a smile on her face: "You must be Ibiki's runt!"

The Chuunin remained passive. Anko had purple hair, light brown eyes, and wore a loose coat over an otherwise revealing outfit. Her first impression was that the Jounin was flamboyant, loud, and lacking tact. "Hello, Anko-san. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, it is." She replied.

Arrogant, Arashi added to the list. "How can I help?"

"Well, not with much right now. Almost all the Genin have turned in their consent forms and then we'll be setting them loose in there." She explained. "Since there's no rush in having you around just yet, I have a task for you to handle for me."

"Oh? What is it?" She perked up.

"I need you to go fetch me some dango and red bean soup."

The medic managed to not let her eye twitch. This felt like mild hazing. She had no intention to let her superior get a rise out of her, no matter how much she tried. Besides, it was not uncommon for a new face to receive some flak to break them in. "Of course. Do you have any preferences concerning where I get them?"

Anko's smile widened. "I do and you better get a lot because I'm starving."

Arashi made a point to take her time as she went to fetch food for the Jounin. As she saw it, they would not have her intervene or interrupt anything happening within the Forest and they would be able to leave for the Tower once she got back, giving them more than enough time to beat the fastest Genin team there. At that point, she could take over as the active medic for anyone that dragged in with notable wounds.

Also kinda annoyed that I had to cut things short with Kakashi-san just to be sent off on a food errand like a Genin. What a joke.

She shook her head, paid for the food, and returned. The second portion of the exam had begun and she found the proctor sitting on top of the registration booth. By all appearances, she had no care in the world and was pleased with herself for it. Something about the older woman's demeanor reminded her of Naruto.

"Good to see you made it back." Anko called down to her. "Now get up here and help me eat that sugary goodness!"

Arashi blinked in surprise but did not argue. She jumped up to join the Jounin, careful to not drop anything, and settled next to her. Anko snatched a stick of dango from the pile and grabbed a container of red bean soup.

"You came highly recommended by Ibiki. He's a pretty intense guy, but we all know he's proud of his students." Anko commented. "You're not what I would've expected, though."

"How's that?"

"Well, you're all bookish and you have a civilian look about you. I figured he'd be producing a more hardened product." She explained. "But here I am, just wanting to keep you as my kohai."

Arashi choked down a dumpling. She wondered if Kurenai was mistaken for a civilian because of her appearance. For some reason, she doubted it. Not wanting to spoil the proctor's mood, Arashi tried to smile but it more closely resembled a grimace.

Anko was unaffected. "You have a bird, right? Heard you had a giant bird."

"Yeah." Arashi replied.

"Not a bad summon. Must make getting around a lot easier."

The medic thought of the many times that Sukai had lashed out at other people, his attitude, and the general headache that dealing with him could be. "You could say that."

"Well, it'll make us getting to the tower a piece of cake. We can just sit here, enjoy this food, and not have to worry about running over there." She devoured the last dumpling from the stick in her hand and threw it into a nearby tree.

The Jounin's movements at that point revealed a portion of her neck for an instant. That was all Arashi needed to notice three spots standing out against her skin. She might have mistaken it for a tattoo, but Anko covered it with her hand when she saw the medic staring. Curiosity made Arashi ask, "What's that?"

Anko's expression darkened as she rubbed the spot. "It's a cursed mark, given to me by my Sensei when I was a lot younger."

"A cursed mark?" Arashi repeated.

"Yeah. Fuinjutsu." She explained. "You're some kind of specialist, aren't you?"

"I dabble."

"If you figure out a way to get rid of this thing, let me know. It's a real pain in the neck." She stated, made eye contact with the medic, and then laughed at her own joke. The sound was strained, but she was not buckling over from pain.

Arashi leaned in closer. "Can I see it?"

Anko gave her a searching look and took another bite of dango. Arashi could tell that it was a sensitive subject but wanted to take a look at it. She had seen a lot of fuinjutsu built with different designs and formulas. Anything new piqued her interest. After a moment, Anko replied through a mouthful of food, "Sure."

She turned her head and pulled the collar of the coat away from her neck. Arashi tentatively placed her fingers on the area around the tomoe and began to probe with trace amounts of her chakra. At first, it appeared to be harmless, but she knew better. While inactive, a fuinjutsu could seal away massive amounts of chakra or physical mass in a remarkably small area. With that in mind, she was careful as she began to probe into the mark itself. It was reactive – ready to activate and spring into action – with a mass of sickly-sweet chakra ready to go right below the surface. It coiled in on itself, like a snake prepared to strike. As she breached further, she was filled with a sense that this mark was meant to consume the host.

Anko hissed in pain and threw her elbow out – catching Arashi in the face. There was the crunch of her nose breaking, followed by a short fall and an ungraceful landing on the ground. The Jounin was on her feet in an instant, staring down at the medic. There was no sympathy in her expression. "Oi, that hurt! You didn't tell me you'd be digging around in it!"

Arashi squinted up at her. "You hit me!"

Anko frowned. "I did, but," she paused as she examined Arashi. "I definitely broke your nose, but you look perfectly fine."

"Oh, wow!" Arashi gasped. "It's almost like I'm a medical shinobi and I can heal myself!"

They held a tense stare for several moments before Anko broke the tension with a laugh. "Well! I'm just sad I didn't get to see a little blood for my efforts. That's probably the most excitement we'll be having today. Want to help me finish these?"

Arashi dusted herself off and murmured, "Yeah, sure."

As much as Arashi would have preferred to resent the Jounin, she instead found that she liked her.

"The sweetness of dango with the savory flavor of red bean soup is just perfect isn't it?" Anko sighed out.

Arashi hummed in agreement. Together, they threw the last of the dango sticks into the nearby tree, completing the leaf outline they had been working on. "When would you like to head to the tower?"

"Well, the good ones will be done within a day, so we should probably head that way soon. After I finish this soup."

This girl loves food. The medic stretched. "Sounds good."

Anko did not get the opportunity to finish. Unexpectantly, one of the proctors appeared below them in a cloud of smoke. "Anko-san, we've got some bad news!"

"Already? What is it?" She asked through a mouthful of food.

"We found three bodies!" He explained. "There's something really weird going on with them. Please, come and see for yourself!"

Arashi followed to investigate. There were other proctors on the scene when they arrived. She recognized Genma and Kotetsu. The bodies were splayed out in front of a row of stone buddha statues. Their blood was splattered across some of them with one of the victims slumped against them. There was a specific detail with each that made Arashi's skin crawl: none of them had faces.

They were not torn or cut away. The surface was smooth, as if they had been wiped away. What kind of jutsu is this? Arashi glanced over at Anko. The Jounin's signature was clouded with distress.

"Judging from their belongings and the papers we found, they were all shinobi from kusagakure. They were registered to take part in the Chuunin Exams." Kotetsu explained. "And, as you can see, their faces are missing. What's left is smooth, like they've been melted away."

Arashi prodded at one of the bodies to test how rigid it was. "I'd say these have been here since last night."

Anko stared down at the bodies, her expression tense. An idea struck her, and she barked out, "Their registration forms should have their photos. Someone get them for me now!"

One of the proctors left to fetch what was requested. While they waited, Arashi spent her time examining the bodies with a mixture of curiosity and horror. She had never seen anything like this before. Judging from the visible wounds, they had met quick deaths with no time to struggle. A Genin would stand no chance against skilled adversaries, but these people were older and should have had more experience – at least enough to put up a fight.

By the time he returned with the photos, Arashi had made enough observations that she was quiet, and dread had settled in her stomach. Whoever had done this was strong, fast, and skilled. This was a dangerous combination for a murderer to possess.

The moment Anko laid eyes on the faces in the registration forms, she grit her teeth. Arashi noted that recognition played across the Jounin's features. "This is awful! You three, report what's happened to Sandaime-sama! Ask that he deploy ANBU to the Forest of Death at once! I'm going after them!" She looked over to Arashi and motioned for her to follow. "Time to put your sensing abilities to use!"

Against her better judgement, Arashi followed. They dashed into the forest and bounded through the branches until they were at a good vantage point. Adrenaline coursed through the medic as she pushed to keep up. While they moved, she scanned the area for anyone that seemed to stick out. She was familiar with kusagakure signatures but knew that the people they were after were unlikely to line up with that unless they were from the same land. She doubted they had been murdered by their own people.

Arashi's eyes widened when she picked up on the Oto jounin's signature in the forest. What is he doing here?

"When we find them, I need you to hang back. Hide yourself until you know his signature and then go." Anko called back to her. "You'll need to move fast. Get to where you can summon your bird and go straight to ANBU."

Arashi's mouth thinned into a line. This was not normal behavior, even in the case of murder. It was against the rules and reflected poorly on the Land of Fire but it did not warrant this much attention. "Who do you think we're after?"

"Orochimaru."

Her heart skipped a beat. Not only were they after a Sannin, but they were trying to find the worst of the three. Kami…

Anko glanced back and offered a strained smirk. "Be sure you don't get his attention. Figure out his signature and go. Don't wait for me and don't stay to help. Do you understand?"

"I do."

"Good! I don't know how your sensory abilities work. Ibiki gave us a rundown – said you have a damn good range and you're able to differentiate between Lands. Can you tell anything else about them?"

"Depends on the distance from them. I can determine quantity from a decent range, especially if they have a lot of chakra." Arashi replied. "Short range, I can detect strong emotions and more minute details."

"Does anyone stick out right now?"

"I don't know why, but the Otogakure Jounin is out here. I felt him earlier before you sent me to collect food. I just assumed he was getting a last-minute talk in with his team." She replied. "But that would line up – he could have waited until night to make a move on those Genin and then integrate himself into the Exam for whatever reason."

Anko cursed under her breath. "Lead me to him!"

As requested, Arashi did. They waited until he had separated himself from the other Genin and was in a position isolated enough that they were not concerned with anyone else intervening. By the time they were able to achieve that, it was dark. The medic fell back and found a spot to listen from after pointing to where she felt his signature. She would wait until Anko had confirmed it was their target and then she would go. Her plan was to slip through the canopy and summon Sukai. She had no place in this fight.

Anko advanced and dropped on to the branch Arashi had directed her to. In front of her was a body that had melded into the trunk of the tree. From the medic's position, their words were quiet, but she was able to make them out.

"It's been a long time, Anko."

"You are an extremely dangerous S-class criminal. I'm going to kill you even if it costs me my life. It's my job as your former subordinate who learned everything from you, right, Orochimaru?"

"You can't."

Anko tried to take first initiate. Blades dropped into her hands, but Orochimaru struck before she could. Arashi heard the beginnings of a struggle – things launching and crashing into the trees, Anko yelling that she would not let him get away. The medic had what she needed. She was well aware of the signature that he carried from when she was looking after him during the first part of the exam.

She knew she needed to leave, but first, she created a single clone and positioned her there to wait. If Anko managed to survive, the clone could heal her. If it was destroyed, she would receive the memories from that clone to update her on anything that she missed. Ibiki had taught her that information was crucial. Anything that she could get from this and then report back could mean all the difference in how they handled this situation.

From what she could tell, the Jounin had pinned her target against a tree and had him secured to her body. The issue was that the thing that Anko had pinned was a clone. Arashi wondered if she noticed. Orochimaru was watching her, waiting to make his move.

"You and I are going to die here." Anko's voice drifted to her ears.

Does she really not notice? She glanced over at her clone. I'll leave this to you.

With that, she turned and left. Instead of going straight up, she traveled to a spot away from where the Jounin and Sannin were facing off. Once she was confident that she should not be noticed, she began her ascent.

Arashi knew her clone had been destroyed as its memories rushed into the forefront of her mind. This man was terrifying. She sensed his approach and increased her pace. He was fast. Faster than anyone she had ever dealt with. His movements were predatory. Somehow, he seemed to be in several places at once, stretched out and slithering.

The stars of the night sky peeked through the leaves as she drew close to the top. It was close enough that her body ached for freedom from that place. It was with trepidation that she realized she would not make it. He was waiting for her. His killing intent was so overwhelming that she could taste it.

Orochimaru was far faster than she was. When he lunged for her, the tips of five of his fingers were ablaze with chakra.

A seal!

In an instant, she summoned a clone by her side and used it as a shield from his attack. The force of impact obliterated it and sent her plummeting downward. She felt the seal take affect and part of the fuin shugotenshi fail.

Dammit!

Arashi twisted around but was unable to reach anything to slow her descent. The velocity in which she was falling was dizzying. Out of desperation, she focused chakra to her arms and braced herself for impact – which resulted in her smashing through a branch and then slamming into a trunk.

Adrenaline helped her find her feet. She channeled chakra into her wounds and continued running. He was following her, lurking in the shadows. She had no doubt that if he wanted, she would have already been dead.

She caught a glimpse of something moving in the darkness and associated it with a signature that had just appeared. A summoning jutsu? Is that a snake? it's huge!

A blast of wind clipped her – it was meant to propel her to the snake that was lying in wait a short distance away – but she managed to twist and stick her feet to a branch. Taking advantage of the wind, she inhaled a deep breath and unleashed a fireball, setting the air stream on fire. The snake was caught in the path of it and charred to nothing but ash in an instant.

There was no time to celebrate that small victory. Her senses screamed for her to run as his signature curled and coiled around the trees toward her. As he went, she picked up on trace clues that he was executing jutsu. It was masterful, blending from one into the other. If not for her sensory abilities, she never would have known. Gotta go!

She leapt from the branch she was on, sending a burst of chakra to her legs and feet to propel herself forward. As her fingers brushed against the bark of each tree she traveled across, she drew symbols and left trace amounts of chakra behind. If she was going to be pursued, she would not allow him to do it without hazard.

Shortly after, he passed over them and they activated with a series of small explosions. Bark and debris flew through the air. He cried out as if injured, but she was not fooled. He had sent a clone to clear the area.

A hiss caught her attention. A viper struck at her legs, but she was able to narrowly avoid the strike. In retaliation, she crushed the snake's head with her heel. Before she could move from that spot, something wet wrapped around her waist and jerked her off the branch. It drug her down, smashing her into more branches before it held her in front of Orochimaru.

It was his tongue.

As before, the tips of five of his fingers were glowing with chakra. Arashi fought against it, but he took advantage of the opportunity and jabbed his fingers into her sternum and then into her stomach. She felt her fuinjutsu lurch to a stop.

He had been able to tell that it had multiple layers and would require more than one seal to stop it. I have to get away!

Focusing chakra to her hands to form scalpels, she stabbed them into his tongue. He released her with a satisfying yelp, but that satisfaction was dashed when he punched her with enough force that she was sent flying.

Her back hit another trunk. It knocked the breath from her lungs and her vision went black for a several seconds. The seals he had managed to place over her own fuinjutsu had inhibited its function to the point of being useless. As she desperately tried to heal herself, she saw that her skin was covered in writing. Almost every single inch was covered as if with tattoos as it struggled to function.

This is bad.

If she ran, he would catch her again. If she fought, he would kill her. If she waited, he would toy with her and then kill her. Even now, as she caught her breath and tried to think of a plan, he took his time walking toward her. She was little more than entertainment for him.

Arashi pulled out a scroll and placed it on the ground. With her feet, she unrolled it and took her position. Trembling at the prospect of what she was about to try, she prepped the trap.

In moments – once she had begun to wonder if he had lost interest – Orochimaru dropped onto the branch, several meters away from her. Instead of advancing, he stood still and examined her. His eyes were a bright amber, his skin was pale, and his hair was long and black. The aura that oozed from his body was intense. Images of what he intended to do to her flickered in the corners of her vision. She had never faced anyone who was able to project in such a way.

When he spoke, his tone was dripping with amusement. "I've heard it said that obsession has an odor and you, kunoichi, are rank with it!" He laughed. "Look at you, covered from head to toe in fuinjutsu. If I hadn't already found another that I prefer, I'd be tempted to lay my claim on you."

"Your claim?" She repeated.

"Yes, that cursed mark that my precious student carries with her. She was the only one to survive out of the ten I initially tested it on. The results are quite impressive when used by a suitable host." He explained. She was struck by how detached he was from the loss of life and how proud he was of his experiment. "It's a shame that she ended up being such a disappointment."

Arashi's lips thinned into a line. "If you've laid claim to someone that you want, why are you still here?"

"I have my reasons." He replied. "You've been fun, but I think I've exhausted any entertainment I can find with you. It's time to end this."

He took a step forward and the trap activated. Her writing leapt forward and bound his legs. She had the distinct feeling that he expected it and could have evaded it if he wanted to. Whether it was his pride or curiosity that led him to allow this to happen, she hoped it would be enough of a mistake for her to survive. I have to do this now!

She made a handseal and focused on the second part of her scroll. Additional writing skittered across the trunk and wrapped around him. As soon as it was secure, she began trying to pull his essence inside the scroll to lock him away. What she had not expected was the sheer resistance that she met as soon as she began.

There was something about this man that was distinctly inhuman. She had no words to describe it. What she had hoped would be a quick process turned into a battle between them. Every fiber of his being resisted. Though he was firmly bound, he held his ground. It was his lifeforce against hers.

"Oh, but you are a fierce one, aren't you?" Orochimaru purred. "You're terrified of me and you flee like prey, but when cornered you bare your teeth and make a stand."

His words were cut off as Arashi grit her teeth, channeled her chakra, and pulled with as much force as she could muster in that instant. For a breathless moment, she had the upper hand. As they stared at each other, she saw the recognition in his eyes. Though he resisted, she had wrested control from him.

"Well done." The Sannin grunted. The amusement had left his voice. "Unfortunately, dear Arashi, I can't let you seal me away. That would ruin all of my plans."

His mouth opened and she saw the tip of a sword begin to emerge from his throat. She was thankful for a second that she had caught him at such a distance, but it was short lived. His neck contorted and stretched like a serpent as he lunged forward, blade first.

In an instant, she was impaled.

With all her might, she tried to maintain her jutsu. There were no thoughts, no considerations.

All she knew was that she had to keep trying.

Seeing that she had not relented, he drew back and lunged again, stabbing her through the ribs. One of her lungs was pierced. She choked on blood and tried to focus some of her chakra to slow the bleeding and to heal the injury. If the Fuin Shugotenshi was still operating, she would have been able to rely on it to create a tourniquet and then mend the injury. As it was, if she did not address her wounds, she knew she would bleed out. She had lost the upper hand.

Orochimaru turned his head to twist the blade.

Kami, I'm going to die!

Something clicked in her head.

I have to die to get away!

As the Sannin continued to twist the blade, she formed a new handseal and concentrated. With a jolt, everything went black and her body went limp. The writing that had held Orochimaru receded back into the scroll. All of her effort had been for nothing.

He swallowed his sword and stared down at her for a moment. "Such a waste."

Slipping into consciousness as the jutsu let up was agony. It was dark and she was being carried. Before she could become oriented with her current situation, she vomited on herself and knew that it was blood from the metallic taste in her mouth. Memories of what happed rushed back and she flailed to free herself from the person carrying her.

"I've got you, Arashi." It was Akio. She slumped into his arms. "I've got you."

The pain drug her back into unconsciousness in seconds. He adjusted his hold on her but did not slow his pace. Being gentle was not something he was accustomed to, but he did his best. She needed medical attention as soon as possible. He cursed his exhaustion and his lack of better transport.

The last time she had entered this forest, he had left her for dead. He refused to give up on her this time.

And that is it for this chapter! I apologize if anything was sloppy or did not make sense. It's been a hot minute since I've written a fight scene and I've never been particularly good at them. Usually, it's not a big deal since Arashi is a medic and generally isn't involved in fights, but I'm toying with the thought of that changing a little as she grows. There will be times that she has to step up, when there will be no other shinobi around to defend her and she has to take care of herself. Soon Hiruzen will be gone, the village will be a in a bad way, and she will be on missions with less support than suggested, doing things that a medic normally would not do because it's necessary.

I wanted to showcase a little of what she knew here: explosives without the use of tags (she can just make it out of objects around her, on the go, which is something she started doing in part 1), chakra scalpels are effective weapons when needed, and learning that one fire jutsu from Itachi still has relevancy.

If anyone has any suggestions, questions, or criticisms, please let me know in either a review or in a private message. I will respond. Also, if anyone would be interested in being a beta reader and getting fed a few spoilers in the process of editing and looking over any of my stuff, shoot me a message.