"Sean!" Amari pulled off the restraints on Sean's arms and gently lowered him to the ground, with the help of Miri.
Amari grabbed the edge of the headband around but Sean pushed down her fingers. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sean warned. "Those really are my eyes."
"Why is Orochimaru after whatever this thing is?" Miri asked.
"From what I learned from Tayuya, this dojutsu is able to copy other kekkei genkai. Anything else, I do not know. Why he needs three or keeps on placing me with you guys is also a mystery."
"No wonder why those Sound Four fear us. We're about to take over."
"Maybe." Sean straightened his back. He groaned and fought through the pain. "I do think that Orochimaru will kill you if you don't gain the genkai."
"But we don't know how to activate it."
"I do. I'm just glad that Orochimaru didn't open up what mattered." Sean held up his arm. "Three inches down from the elbow and right under the crest of the bicep muscle."
"What?" Amari gasped.
"It's just paper. I just can't see right now."
Amari gulped and pinched where Sean located. She pulled on the skin, to her surprise she pried off folded pieces of paper. She poked inside the hole in his arm and popped out a disconnected eyeball.
"Ugh, what the fuck is that?" Miri said in awe.
"My grandparents showed me that. They said I was ready and brought me that. It's my ultra great grandparent's kept Tozoto. Stab the eye and save the juices for the next trail. During the right time, inject the juice into your eye. But you must promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Destroy the eye right after. Orochimaru must never gain this power. He'll never be able to duplicate this process again. If this doesn't work, I or he will kill you. If this process doesn't work, you will never gain the genkai and will be killed."
Amari took the eye in hand. Her eyes bounced from Sean and back to the eye. "Why did you hide this all this time?"
"I wanted to believe that there are other ways to activate the genkai. Needed to do a bit of research myself."
"Research?" Miri screamed. "You were doing research this entire time instead of just giving us the genkai ability?"
"I'm saying somebody had to learn about this. Somebody had to have this from the beginning and somebody had to have had the eyes in them."
"We all have it in us." Amari's chin fell. "Orochimaru would've killed us if we didn't have it."
"He thinks he just has to activate it. I think the genkai ability can only be activated in certain people, and people like us need them." Sean pushed Amari's hand into her chest. "Do this, and we can escape."
The door was forcefully pushed open. Tayuya brushed past Miri and pulled on Sean's arm. She lifted him over her shoulder and grabbed both his eyes.
"You two idiots get back to your rooms. Lord Orochimaru has another trial waiting for you tomorrow." Tayuya spat at the two girls. She turned from them and left.
The night was long for the two woman, each second that past felt like a hour. The idea of this trial being their last ran through their minds. The only reason they were conceived, and they were about to fail it. Through life they only knew of one place, and knew of one purpose. And right in front of them sat their only hope for survival.
Sunrise arrived through their blacked out rooms. In only a matter of a few hours would tell if they continue to live or die. Both of their doors were knocked on and warned of the time ahead.
Amari couldn't wait for the opportunity to arise to use the eye. She rose the eye to her sharpest tooth and punctured through the out eye. If the genkai filled eye was normal it would've dried out over night. But this was special, the outside was dry but the inside was still moist and filled with fluid. She dipped her finger into the hole and rubbed the substance in both eyes. She sat in her bed in silence and hoped to feel or notice any kind of reaction. But didn't.
"I'm going to die here." Amari whispered to herself. All emotion she hid up to this point leaked out of her tear ducts.
"Alright enough!" Sakon kicked open the door and yanked Amari off her bed. He dragged her by her hair and tossed her just outside her room.
Amari turned her head to the adjacent room. Miri took her few steps out and notice that Amari was on the ground in tears. Miri knew without a single word that she already used the eye, and that it didn't work. The sister she grew up with was going to die today.
Sakon pulled on Amari's hair till she got back up to her feet. "Lord Orochimaru waits." He said as he pointed down the hall. The two looked at each other one last time and proceeded down the corridor. Sakon followed close behind them. "Stop. This is where we need to go."
They stopped at a closed door with a bright light that shimmered through the cracks. Miri was slightly hesitant to push open the door. Her hand slightly twitched as she gently opened the other side.
The scene shocked them both. A large hole was in the ground and spewed out a ball of fire. Kabuto had Sean's head pushed up next to the fire and a kunai at his throat. Orochimaru stood behind them both. He smiled at them, it wasn't a smile brought on by happiness. The two of them recognized it to be a smile forced on my the greed of that man.
"I'm tired of waiting." Orochinaru announced.
The door slammed behind, both of them turned to face the Sound Four. They lacked any power or strength to escape out of this situation alive. "What's going on Orochimaru?" Miri questioned.
"This trial will depend if all three of you live... or just two of you." Miri and Amari stood there in silence and shock. Neither of them could say a word in response. All they could do was feed Orochimaru's ego and superiority of the situation. "As Sean told you. You either learn the Tozoto, or you die. It's your choice to grab an eye off the table and use it as yours, or jump in the fires and burn away your existence."
Orochimaru didn't give either of them a chance to think. His neck stretched out from his body and clasped onto Amari's neck. She screamed out for help. She extended out her arm to no avail. He dragged her above the fire before Miri could help. Amari kept her eyes on Miri as she struggled to loosen Orochimaru's bite. Her eyes kept going down and up. Miri noticed her movements and looked down to where she looked down.
"The eye." Miri whispered in awe.
"Look at me!" Orochimaru demanded. "Do you die or take the eye!" He hissed.
Amari's neck stiffened and rapidly spazzed out her head. She felt a strong pain drive through both her eyes. The reflection in Orochimaru's snake eyes allowed Miri watch what happened to her. Her entire eye filled to pitch black. Then clear up to leave a repeated pattern of thin black rings. Orochimaru chucked her down to Miri's feet. His eyes followed up her body. He saw the clenched fists, the veins pop up to her skin. The several ring pattern in her eyes.
"So this is all it took. The threat of real death. You all feared the pain, but none of you feared your death till now."
Miri sprinted over to Orochinaru's extended neck. She kicked the eye into the fire and jumped up to him. Orochimaru retaliated and opened his jaw up to expose his serrated teeth. Miri saw every move Orochimaru did and was able to spin away from his attack. She boosted herself off the back of her head and aimed for Kabuto and Sean. Kabuto was slow to react, he moved his kunai to Miri. Miri saw the direction he aimed the knife and kicked it out of his hands before he could strike. She followed up with a boot to his chin and pulled on the back of Sean's raggedy shirt and pulled him from the fire. She spun around and picked up the kunai. She stopped her spin and locked eyes with Orochimaru and point the blade at his chest.
"Give Sean his eyes back." Miri pressed the knife to Orochimaru's chest. "Or else."
"You really think a little knife will bring me down?" Orochimaru brought his neck down to the normal size of his body. "Sean will get his eyes back. But now the real tests begin."
"You did it." Sean heaved through his breaths. "You really proved me wrong."
