This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Naruto, which is trademarked by Masashi Kishimoto. Everything aside from the original characters are created from the wonderful mind of Kishimoto.
Most of the following unrecognizable are original characters of mine, please bear with me I am still in the process of making the character profiles for an even better visualization.
Comments, suggestions, criticism, even just simple messages are welcomes, please feel free to message me anytime.
Also, thank you so much to you guys who take your time to read my humble fanfiction even though it had taken a very slow turn. Special to those who follow, favorite, and especially those who take extra efforts to review.
But above all, thank you for those who have been there since day one, I love you guys so much!
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 9: The Inevitable
The moment the three little mice landed themselves before them on the famed Tenchi Bridge, Misaki felt a surge of dread more so than the moment she saw Kabuto standing on the bridge. Before them Naruto was showing physical signs of not only his anger, but the specific brand of hate that can only be distinguished as the nine tails. That not only heightened his emotional traits, but also his physical ones as Naruto's fangs got sharper and his nails more so, digging against the wooden floors of the bridge.
Of course, Orochimaru being the sadist that he is made things worse with a simple singular sentence.
"Let's see who's become stronger, you or Sasuke"
"Taichou" Misaki whispered behind the three other teammates, as she observe Naruto's anger physically manifest at an increasingly alarming speed.
"Yeah, this is bad, at this rate we'll have our hands tied enough trying to suppress Naruto. We need a quick change of plans" Yamato said and Misaki nodded her affirmation as she held her sword in a relaxed, but defensive stance, feet already ready to move at a second's notice.
"Give Sasuke back, GIVE HIM BACK" Naruto growled at their opponents, revealing fox like angry red eyes in place of the deep blue ones he shared with his twin. Personally Misaki hated it, because for Misaki, their identical eyes were their connection of sorts, and the moment Naruto manifests that nine tails' chakra, his eyes are the first thing that changes.
"Give him back, is not the correct way of saying it Naruto. You're reasoning is off, Sasuke came to us because he wanted to. For a man, you're too obsessed about the past, you need to reign in your emotions" Kabuto slighted the already incredibly angry Naruto, who was already forming the nine tails' cloak of chakra around his body.
Whilst Sakura was busy defending Naruto and his feelings, Misaki and Yamato were both coming up ways for the best approach for this kind of situation. The mission still stand, capture Sasori's spy and it will continue regardless of who the said spy is.
"Yamato-taichou!" Misaki exclaimed when Naruto lunged at Orochimaru throwing him off the bridge a few miles from their stand point, but as usual he was able to spring back, almost unscathed, even with his ninjutsu sealed away, Orochimaru would still be very difficult to deal with, if the three way dead lock battle between the sannins was any indicator.
As the scene unfolded before them all that Yamato and Misaki already had come to an understanding.
"Misaki, how well will you fair against Kabuto?" Yamato asked the lithe red head next to him. For a moment Misaki thought well of her answer, despite not being that a strong nor a fast opponent, Kabuto had the an incredibly cunning intellectual prowess, using his medical expertise as a leverage in battle, something that Misaki, in her long travels, seen in two people use their medical expertise in battle, one being Kaede and the other one being Kazumi.
"I think I'll be able to par with him, I have to be mindful of him though he's prone to using medical tactics in battle" Misaki said raising her sword in a ready to attack position.
"Your priority is still Sakura's protection, but in the instant these two split up, you're the one I'm tasking to go after Kabuto, alone" Yamato said, and even without asking, Misaki already knew the reason behind this impromptu set up. The odds are already against the favor with Orochimaru as their opponent, but even against their favor now that Naruto has gone berserk.
"If I do that, would you be able to suppress Naruto?" Misaki made certain before she attacked, no matter what the mission is, Naruto would still remain first priority.
"Yes, I'm confident as long as he wears the First's necklace on him" Yamato assured and with that Misaki nodded, immediately jumping to land next to Sakura, anticipating the enemy's and Naruto's next movements before making their own.
Kabuto mustered his specialized form of medical ninjutsu, and made a run towards Naruto who released a tremendous amount of chakra, throwing all of them at a disarray. Misaki, Sai and Yamato were able to evade the blast by jumping out of the explosion's range, whilst Sakura didn't have the chance to dodge as she was hit by a Kabuto, who was closes to the explosion as it burst.
Once the dust had finally settled down, they all saw the evidence of Naruto's raw power on the bridge, or rather, what's left of the bridge. With the bridge parted in half, nothing supporting the edge, it began to deteriorate and completely break below the very soles of their feet. A feat that was only a minor transgression, except for Sakura who laid helplessly unconscious on the floor boards of the crumbling bridge.
"Sakura!" Misaki yelled after the pink haired kunoichi as her body slid dangerously closer to the edge.
"Damn it, passing out at a time like this! Wood Style Technique" Yamato said and immediately pillars of wood sprouted from the cliff sides to serve as a beam of support to the rapidly collapsing bridge.
"I think she hit her head when Kabuto was blasted through her" Misaki exclaimed as none of their efforts to call the girl's attention prove effective.
"I won't be able to support this for so long" Yamato groaned between his teeth as he exhausted his efforts concentrating on keeping the bridge as upright as he can. Misaki nodded and sheathed her katana, quickly and carefully trudging through the unstable floor boards of the bridge to come to Sakura's aid, but Misaki's heart plummeted as soon as Sakura's body began its descent, helpless and unconscious towards the river below them.
Before their eyes, Sai released his unique ninja art: super beast scroll, releasing a giant bird made out of ink, and just when they thought his efforts were to save their pink haired teammate, he missed her by an inch and changed the course if his direction.
"Damn it" Misaki said quickly taking out a scroll and releasing a rope, jumping as she threw the looped end at a stable piece of metal twisting and wrapping her hand around the rope as secure as possible as her free hand reached out for her old friend.
Thankfully, she was able to grab on to the back of Sakura's clothes, muttering in reverence that her clothes were made out of strong materials that were able to withstand the force of a screeching halt.
"Thank god, really Sakura, fainting at a time like this" Misaki muttered as she take a thoughtful glance at Sakura, checking for any visible damages. Not too long after that, she felt a strong tug from the other end of the rope as they were hoisted by none other than their team captain.
As soon as they were on stable grounds, well as stable as a deteriorated bridge can be, Misaki immediately laid Sakura down flat on her back and made a quick check for any signs of concussions, and what not.
Sakura slowly opened her eyes only to be met by two extremely worried, but then again, also relieved eyes, slowly she took a moment to feel her head as it ringed in pain from where her head hat hit the floors, as she did so, Sakura was able to gaze at what was once the Tenchi Bridge.
"What happened here?" Sakura said surveying the bridge, or the lack thereof.
"Naruto happened" Yamato answered and instantly the memories of the explosion, Kabuto's quick approach towards her flashed through her mind.
"Naruto!?" Sakura exclaimed sitting up a little too quick for her condition, the effects of her actions promptly reminding her of her previous predicament.
"Here drink this, it will help with the pain" Misaki said handing Sakura pills that were made from Kazumi for situations such as this one.
"Rest for a little while Sakura and let the medicine take effect, you took quite a hit there, so it's understandable if moving itself prove to be too painful for you" Misaki assisted, after making sure that Sakura is indeed alright, and there were no signs of any permanent damage, Yamato gave Misaki a knowing stare, one that Misaki already knew the unspoken meaning of.
It's time to go after their mission, regardless of his identity Kabuto remains their mission. with that Yamato released a wooden clone to go after Naruto as he is guarding Sakura until she gets back on her feet, and check how he is fairing against Orochimaru, or the other way around.
The group of three was about to turn into a pair of two, but just when Misaki was about to leave their small group of three to go look for Kabuto, a voice intruded them, "It seems that Sasori won't be coming here now is he?" Kabuto said, even in his banged up state, he still managed to sound cocky and polite at the same time as he walked towards what's left of the team. Misaki gave Kabuto a once over, not trusting any of slight movement out of her sight. This was a man she fought years ago, completely handicapped from Tsunade's techniques but was able to send her almost knocking on death's door. Misaki stepped before Yamato and Sakura, slowly unsheathing her sword as Kabuto made his slow but inevitable approach.
"The only other person who knows that I was coming her today was Sasori, not even the other akatsuki member were privy to that information, but despite that, you Konoha guys are here, it would be hard to believe that Sasori, would confess to torture. Which means that he gave out the information of his own volition, most likely his intention was for you to get this information, about Orochimaru-sama out of me and then have the Leaf Village dispose of him. Because Orochimaru has proven to be too tough a customer for the akatsuki guys too." Kabuto said, stating his hypothesis with a smile, as though his theory was already proven as a universal truth. As if his prior assumption was not enough, he continued to point out his facts. Misaki's eyes grew slicker as Kabuto's went on and on about his theorems, Kabuto's brash attitude getting on the best of her nerves. Don't get it wrong, indeed he was right, but it wouldn't hurt to put him in his place, even if it was just a bluff.
Wind blew past them, but the air felt hot and thick with tension as everybody waited in bathed breathe for the opposite party's action, or reaction. Both Yamato and Sakura almost jumped out of their skins when Misaki drew her katana, pointing it at Kabuto, and laughed, and not the subtle and girlish giggles, but a full on laughter.
"I find it hard for a man who claims to have never seen Sasori's face be an excellent judge of his character. You talk of his actions as if you were all chummy with him not that long ago, but no matter how excellent Yamato-taichou was able to replicate Hiroko, it wasn't perfect. Something someone who knew him well would have noticed, but instead you weren't able to notice a thing, so what makes you so damn sure about your hypothesis?." Misaki said, eyes not flinching as she gazed back at Kabuto.
Even though she was driven mad with worry on what is occurring between Naruto, but she trusted Yamato, but more importantly, she trusted her brother above all. Misaki trusted Naruto to be able to hold his ground against Orochimaru, and she trusted him to hold his ground against the nine tailed fox, it might take time, and accidents along the way, but he will get there, a fact that Misaki was willing to bet her life and soul for.
And even as a humongous explosion occurred behind her, an even bigger one that destroyed the village, Misaki didn't dare look away from Kabuto. Not when the explosion happened, nor when Naruto, in his nine tailed cloak with four tails crashed next to them, with a sword imbedded on his torso, did she tear her eyes away from her opponent.
"He's gotten even closer to the nine tails than earlier on hasn't he?" Kabuto said, his amusement, escalating even more. Misaki heard Sakura gasp behind her, seeing Naruto in such a dismal state of anger.
Only when Naruto in his cloaked form flung Orochimaru's damn long snake sword towards them did Misaki broke from her posture to dodge the onslaught, but even as she leapt through the air, she kept a close watchful eye on Kabuto and landed straight, a short distance from him, with Naruto behind her.
"It's not like it's a ninja battle anymore, but more like a battle between monsters," Kabuto smirked, and as Naruto roared to the skies of his angst, Misaki's grip on her katana got tighter as Kabuto continued stating his observations out loud.
"Look at that, I wonder if he still wants to save Sasuke, even in that state. By now, even his self-conscious is gone, what a sad –" Kabuto was unable to finish his sentence when he was immediately caught of guards, flying a few feet away from where he was standing, and before he knew it he was nursing a quickly swelling cheek as a result of Misaki's round house kick to his face.
'Damn it she's way faster than she was before' Kabuto thought as Misaki slowly walked over to him, sword drawn and face showing nothing but a mask of seriousness.
"You seem so proud of your observations, this time I won't give you a moment's rest for any of your observation" Misaki said swinging her sword back and forth before she lunged to attack Kabuto, who was able to get on his feet, just in time to deflect Misaki's katana from slicing his face in half.
"Your opponent is me, so I'd expect I will be the only one you will be observing" Misaki said as she pressed her katana against Kabuto's kunai.
"Ah, back then you were already a force to reckoned with, I'd be delighted to know how much you have grown over the past few years" Kabuto smirked as he almost reached Misaki with his chakra infused free hand, but she was able to push him back and back summersault away from him, but not without a damage.
Misaki inspected the torn piece of cloth on her shoulder, revealing a bleeding graze underneath. Misaki looked back to Kabuto who was smirking back at her, feeling stupid for letting her anger get the best of her.
'What do you know, maybe it runs in the family' Misaki thought swinging her katana left and right to calm her nerves, trying to compose herself, which was vital when going up against a opponent like Kabuto, who was like a trickster, using all the tricks in his sleeves to win, or sometimes just to get away.
"Funny, thing is that I feel the same way, tell me how much have you grown for the past years Kabuto-san" Misaki said, resuming a different position.
Kabuto saw it, the change in Misaki's composure, she was no longer affected by his comments, and this time she was focused, quietly buying her time as she examined his physique, looking for an opportune moment to strike. That's the moment Kabuto knew that none of his tricks will work on her, he has to take her seriously or he'll end up like dead meat, she wasn't the little girl he fought years ago. Straightening up he, buried one of his hands in his back pouch to grab a pill.
"I see, you beginning to take things seriously" Misaki noted the familiar scene before her, the super pill that serves as some sort of power up for him, not doubting that this pill has been upgraded than the last one.
Misaki waited for Kabuto to attack and as he did, she quickly dodged his chakra infused hand, returning the blow with her katana, that was not as quickly but just as efficiently deflected. They exchanged blows for a while, and with Kabuto's super pill quickly wearing off, and Misaki not giving a chance to refill, the outcome of the battle seem to go down on a predicted direction.
"Sakura, wait!" Yamato yelled after the pink haired kunoichi as she ran towards her childhood friend.
"NARUTO!" The mere idea of Sakura running towards Naruto in his current state was enough to cause Misaki to turn away from her battle in the favor of stopping Sakura in her tracks.
That mere split second was enough opportunity for Kabuto and he took it, using his chakra infused hands, he lay palm on the back of her neck. It might have been a touch softer than the clothes, but the effects were instantaneous, Misaki sight's immediately turned dark before she completely fell, her swords falling on the ground.
"Misaki!" Yamato exclaimed as the red haired subordinate fell against Kabuto, who caught her dainty and petite form before slumping her on one of his shoulders.
'Damn it,' Yamato internally cursed, his team was torn down, with Sai going off God knows where, Sakura badly injured and Naruto on berserk mode, he might as well just split his body in to three, and now, Misaki was unconscious and in the enemy's hands, literally.
However what shocked him, is when Kabuto took meaningful steps towards the slumped over Sakura and healed her, even as he was a few feet away, restrained by his wood technique. Stating that in exchange for helping Sakura, they have to get rid of as many akatsuki members, before disappearing with Misaki in a puff of smoke.
As soon as they left, Yamato immediately got back to working on how to stabilize Naruto, using a technique unique only to him and the necklace around Naruto's neck. Once the nine-tail's cloak disappeared around Naruto, it left only a badly burnt version of Naruto behind.
'So this is what Jiraiya-sama said that it may look like it was protecting Naruto, but in truth it was doing damage more than anything' Yamato thought as Sakura attended to her fallen teammate.
And once Naruto woke up and his initial quirkiness had died down, he immediately notice Misaki, or the lack thereof of his twin sister.
"Where is Misaki?" Naruto asked curiously, looking left and right, trying to survey his surroundings and as the question left the blond, all Sakura and Yamato can do is look at each other.
*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$LINE_BREAK*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$
Meanwhile, as Sai reached for the contents of his back he was attacked by unknown assailant, tackled to the ground, leaving the contents of his backpack spilling all over the ground. Sai looked up to see that it was the spy from the bridge, team seven's supposed mission pressing his weight on his back, kunai pointed against his throat.
"What's going on here?" his assailant said from above him.
"Just calm down Kabuto, that child is going to be one of our subordinates starting today"
"Can you trust this guy?" Kabuto inquired, he didn't survive being a double, nor, triple spy this long without being too cautious.
"Look inside that envelop, it's for you from Danzo" Orochimaru did as Sai had asked him to, picking it up and carefully ran his eyes over the page of the paper, both Kabuto and Sai waiting patiently bathed breath for whatever is about to follow.
"Kabuto let go of the child, we're taking him along with us" Orochimaru ordered his subordinate as he calmly retuned the contents to its original place.
As Kabuto retracted from Sai's physique, Sai can't help but catch a sight of the motionless figure that lay right next to them. The moment Kabuto picked the figure up, a mass of red locks almost hit the ground as the familiar face revealed itself before Sai. True to the foundation's information, Orochimaru coveted Misaki, for reasons that have yet to be revealed. Through the years Orochimaru have sent men for Misaki over and over again, and over and over again they failed just as the once before them failed, leaving Sai to wonder what has happened with the others that made Misaki's capture easy.
Kabuto's actions didn't go unnoticed by Orochimaru, but most importantly, the person at the center of Kabuto's actions caught his eye. Misaki has slipped past his fingers many times over the years, but there she was lying daintily in Kabuto's arms like a piece of fruit so ripe for the picking, it almost seemed too good to be true.
"Nice of you to take back a present Kabuto" Orochimaru said and Kabuto nodded as he place Misaki's form over his shoulder.
"Uh, I couldn't let an opportunity such as this to pass up" Kabuto said and altogether, the four of them left to travel, oblivious to the presence hidden behind the trees.
"Just as I thought"
*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$LINE_BREAK*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$
The light of the small lit candles scattered around the hideout danced against the dark shadows and soon, after endless identical hallways and walls, Sai found himself standing before a vast and dark hall. In the midst of said hall, red eyes with three precise dots surrounding the middle iris gleamed in the dark, staring, no glaring intently at them, with an almost, probably truly killing intent.
"You're late, weren't you supposed to join me for some new jutsu training this afternoon, Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked as he scrutinized the people before him on the other end of the room.
"Tche, talking rude again" Kabuto commented at his 'comrade' with a frown.
"Enough of that, why don't you escort our other guest and help her get settled in, I'm sure she's had a tough day" Orochimaru smirked as he nodded off to Kabuto who affirmed his master's orders and followed through.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed in on the small figure resting in Kabuto's arms, and as he turned to leave the hall, the candle lights danced against the form, forcing Sasuke to have a glimpse of the persona in Kabuto's possession. His eyes unconsciously narrowed in on the familiar shade of red, his eyes following as it was disappearing completely. He didn't say a word nor moved a muscle, he didn't need to.
At least that's what he was telling himself.
Orochimaru observed his soon to be vessel, a little disappointed that Sasuke didn't even concern himself with Kabuto's package, but then again the reunion, though inevitable was still raw, for he had great big plans for the two of them.
Orochimaru introduced Sai, but as usual Sai was received with less than pleasant reception.
"It seems I'm the type of person people don't like one way or another, even if I try to make a smile, it seems that Misaki is the only one who can sincerely get along with me. Just recently, Naruto also expressed his dislike towards me, but I have a feeling that I'll be able to get along better with you compared to Naruto" Sai said and as he finished his statement, he was placed under a powerful genjutsu unique only to the sharingan.
"Maybe its best not to joke around Sasuke, you see, he's much worse than me" Orochimaru explained as Sai as he stood back on his two feet.
"It's best to leave him be for a while, Kabuto will show you to where you will be staying at" Orochimaru instructed as soon as he caught sight of the brilliant medical nin once again.
"Kabuto make a bingo book out of this" Orochimaru said handing the envelope Sai handed to Orochimaru, or rather made Orochimaru picked up that gain his trust, for the time being. Meanwhile Kabuto's eyes widened by a fraction when he saw the contents of the envelope.
A list of Anbu members directly reporting under the fifth hokage.
Meanwhile in a different room inside the base, Misaki lay awake in the dim, candle lit room as the shadows dance with the flames dance. She could only guess that she was in fact inside Orochimaru's base, to serve whatever purpose he has of her. Her mind flashed back to that time Akihiko attempted to kidnap her to do Orochimaru's bidding, and her mind drifted to her old friend, she thought after she travelled to such an extent she would have to see his smiling face again, but after a few years on the road no once has she seen his smile, nor him at all. Misaki snapped out of her thoughts when the candle made a small hiss from the fire threading close to the wax.
"Not really the best time to reminisce about the best friend who turned out to be working for the enemy betrays you and kidnaps you to serve as some sort of reproductive bunny rabbit for his experiments" Misaki muttered to herself.
The moment Misaki head the door locking as she was placed on the bed of her room, er prison cell, she opened her eyes. She had been awake for quite some time, but instead of lashing out half-way through their journey to the precise location they were trying to find, she decided to feign unconsciousness, plus it helped save effort and energy being carried around instead of having to go there herself. If she was going to serve some sort of purpose to Orochimaru then she probably won't get killed off, least not before he gathered what he needed from her. In fact she felt so at ease, Misaki actually felt so at ease, she can't recall the moment they entered the base until she was laid on the bed.
"Damn it" Misaki cursed as she struggled to sit up, of course it doesn't mean that she was able to ward off the side effects of Kabuto's jutsu, she was able to ward off the actual and intended effects. Her whole body felt numb, making it both difficult and frustrating to move.
"Now I know how Jiraiya-san felt when Shizune poisoned him into staying" Misaki sighed as she continued to move and shake her body into motion. With all her squirming, she didn't realized how close she was to the edge of the bed and almost made a body slam on the floor if she hadn't been able to get a hold of the bed's duvet.
"That was so close" Misaki sighed as she sweat dropped, her face inches from the floor. Slowly, she bent her knees to the floor and started to regain the feeling of her entire body by stretching and massaging her own limbs. Looking around she realized Kabuto had let her belongings by the table, devoid of her weapons nor her katana.
"Impressive, I guess he's smart enough to part me from my sword and other weapons, but not smart enough to part me from this" Misaki said opening her bag to retrieve a scroll, sealed with several medicines Kazumi forced her to bring along with her.
"Normally I wouldn't dare drink this without a tub of water to wash it down, but desperate times call for desperate measures" Misaki said closing her eyes and swallowing two pills, turning green and gagging immediately.
"Note to self: coerce Kazumi into making these things a little more tolerable" Misaki said as she gagged and choked on the pills. For a moment Misaki stayed on the ground physically reeling from the bitter taste of the pill.
"Uh, I think I just experienced a fate worse than death" Misaki said standing up from her crouching position, collecting her belongings. Misaki walked towards the door and shook the handle a few times, she figured it would be locked, but hey it's worth the shot if someone did forget to lock her in.
"Cute try though, thinking a locked door would keep me in" Misaki said as she took out a roll of thread hidden under the bands of her arms.
"Kunoichi rule number 1: anything in her physique can be used as a weapon" Misaki said as she took a page out Kaede's ninja book.
"Ninpou: Thousand stiches, blades of stealth" she executed the technique and the threads came to life as Misaki aimed them to the specified target; the door. Once the thread have randomly wrapped itself on the door, it glowed bright yellow and slice the door into pieces.
"Now to find my katana" Misaki said casually stepping out the door, and began cursing at herself.
"Sure Misaki fall into a deep sleep on the enemy's arms as they entered they secret hide-out, now you have to map everything yourself" she continued as she moved swiftly but silently along the never-ending, ridiculously identical halls of what seems to be Orochimaru's base.
She could use the flying raijin's markers to detect the sword's whereabouts, but since Orochimaru too had a marker on him, at this close of a proximity, he'll be able to tell if she had indeed used her chakra, but in his weakened non-jutsu state, maybe she could risk it, besides the risk of her getting caught whilst running like a deer in headlights was rather high. Misaki internally battled with her decisions before deciding to use the flying raijin, but for only a few seconds, all she would need is a general direction to at least trim down the search area.
"Let's see" Misaki closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she can, restricting the outgoing chakra and the incoming information.
"Found you" Misaki exclaimed in a whisper and dashed for the direction of the rest of her belongings.
*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$LINE_BREAK*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$
Sai and Naruto were opening every damn door on every freaking identical hallway in search of either Misaki, or Sasuke.
"Damn it, where are they" Naruto cursed, getting more and more anxious with every empty room door opened. What's even more frustrating was the fact that they didn't even know where they were going or if they were ever going anywhere, maybe this was like some sick labyrinth and they have been going in circles.
Naruto hastily opened the last door of the current hallway they were in, when he barely even had time to register what was in the room as he was swung over someone's shoulder and slammed face first on the ground, his good arm bent at a weird angle on his back. Whilst Sai was faced with a cold metal pressed against his neck, which he retracted with a kunai pressed against their assailant's neck.
Due to the darkness of the room, with the candle from the hallway their only source of light, it took all three of them to realize their opponents.
"Sai?!" What are you doing?!" Misaki exclaimed once her eyes adjusted to the poorly lit environment, immediately retracting her sword, swinging it a few times before sheathing it back.
"Misaki?!" Sai said, he too retracting his kunai.
"If you're here, then this must be" Misaki slowly looked down to the person he held on the ground.
"Naruto! I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you" Misaki exclaimed as she helped her brother up.
"What the hell is wrong with you, why did you attack just like that?!" Naruto scolded at Misaki who merely rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.
"More importantly, how are you roaming around freely, I would think that Kabuto would place you in a similar situation such as I did" Sai asked the red haired kunoichi.
"Kunoichi rule number 2: never under estimate a woman, no matter how tiny she is" Misaki winked at Sai.
"What exactly do you mean by that, huh Misaki" Naruto groaned, he hated it when Misaki spoke in riddles.
"Well, I was already awake half way towards Orochimaru's base" Misaki answered.
"If you were awake, why didn't you try to get away?" Sai inquired.
"Well, I was being carried to the place where in we are trying to get in, so why bother, besides Orochimaru wasn't going to kill me until he gets what he wants from me, so I didn't have anything to worry, at least not yet. In fact I've been too complacent, that I kind of fell asleep in Kabuto's arms" Misaki explained, rubbing the back of her head, smiling sheepishly.
"And you weren't worried at all at how you were going to escape and get away from Orochimaru" Naruto scolded, his voice rising by the minute.
"No I wasn't I knew you were going to follow me here," Misaki said smiling brightly, looking like an innocent lamb. Naruto huffed and walked out, not bothering to evade or apologize to Misaki and Sai, both of which he bumped to on the way out.
"Let's go" Naruto ordered, resuming their pace in opening room for room in the effort to find Sasuke. They began opening door after door, in the seemingly never ending cycle of halls.
"Why and how does Orochimaru have this big of a base, and it's only one of his bases" Misaki groaned, all the rest she had taken was quickly used up in this plight. Out of blue, Naruto just collapsed face first on the floor, Misaki wasn't quite sure if he tripped or he collapsed out of exhaustion, or a bit of both.
"Naruto!" Misaki rushed to his brother, who lost consciousness after he insisted that they continue their search for Sasuke.
"Geesh, declaring with that kind of conviction then collapsing ahead, what am I going to do with you" Misaki said, smiling gently at Naruto, caressing his rugged face. She began to move Naruto, to the side, with the surprise help from Sai.
Misaki laid Naruto's head on her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair whilst Sai sat beside her. For a while, they sat in comfortable silence as they waited for their loud mouthed member to wake up.
"There's something different about you, did something happen?" Misaki asked as she observed Sai in the darkness of the halls.
"Different?" Sai asked curiously, recallin what exactly he has changed from the moment they last saw each other.
"It's like your persona, its less cold and fake, it's warmer and sincere" Misaki explained.
"To be honest, I hadn't really notice, should I have not?" Sai asked, a little worried that he was being too familiar, but more curious on Misaki's opinion.
"No, it's not bad at all, it's actually quite nice, like a fresh breeze of air" Misaki said smiling softly and sincerely at him. After that she didn't bother to bombard Sai with questions, instead she closed her eyes and leaned on him a little, enveloping them in a sense of safety and comfort, despite sitting on a cold hard, barely lit hallway in the secret base of one of the most wanted man in several lands.
Sai heard a sigh followed by a soft snore from Misaki and he knew she had fallen into a light sleep, he read it in one of his books that if a person feels secure around you, they'd be able to sleep freely on your shoulders or lap. Sai watched her silently, she may seem like she was always oblivious one, but she understood everyone best, most of the time she didn't even had to ask, she was extremely observant, keen until the very last detail of the picture.
Sai reached to caress Misaki's face when Naruto immediately sat up from Misaki's lap, forcing Sai to retract his hands just as quickly.
"Naruto it seems your awake" Sai said as Misaki slowly opened her eyes startled awake from Naruto's eratic movement. Sai stared at Naruto for a moment, before explaining how much Naruto resembled his older brother, after that, Sai seemed stunned to a deep silence, worrying both Naruto and Misaki.
"Sai are you alright?" Misaki said gently shaking his shoulders as he continued to stare at nothing in particular. The moment Sai snapped back to his senses, he grabbed his brush and immediately drawing the unfinished pages of his picture book.
"I remember now, the picture I wanted my brother to see" Sai said showing them the finished drawing of him and his brother smiling and holding hands.
"Sai, it's perfect" Misaki said placing a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him beaming like the happiest little child in a candy store, Sai smiled back, although not as brightly but just as sincere. However, their joy was short lived when they heard footsteps approaching them.
All three of them looked up and came face to face with the least person they wanted to see.
"Well then Sai, which side are you going to choose?"
"Orochimaru" Misaki muttered as the three of them stood defiantly before him. Orochimaru tried to attack him with his snakes, but Misaki was quick to slice them off before it reached them.
"So it seems you're taking that side, Sai or whatever" Orochimaru said.
"We'll stop him here, Sai you go find Sasuke, hurry!" Naruto ordered as he leveled next to Misaki.
"Okay, I'll find Sasuke and I'll save him" Sai said and ran off, leaving Misaki and Naruto to face one of the three legendary Sannin.
"So you can to take Sasuke? Your persistence is impressive but will it really be that easy?" Orochimaru smirked at the siblings.
"It doesn't make any difference that you're one of the legendary sannin like Ero-sennin or Tsunade-ba-cha, I'll defeat you and take Sasuke back" Naruto declared and made multiple shadow clones, just as Misaki transformed into him, blending her in within the crowds of Naruto, which was immediately annihilated by Orochimaru's snakes, with Naruto being thrown back.
"What happened to all that energy earlier, your power, the nine tailes' power, there must be more of it" Orochimaru taunted Naruto as he was struggling to stand back on his feet. Before he can even taunt some more, he was kicked from behind, slamming him to the wall next to him.
"Don't listen to him Naruto" Misaki said, jumping down in front of Naruto, sword drawn. Orochimaru was about to attack with his snakes once again, when a large word sprung out of nowhere and in came Sakura and Yamato.
"Orochimaru again huh," Yamato said, already preparing himself for whatever may come their way.
"Naruto, I'll let you leave, please dispose of as many akatsuki members as you can, Misaki, you're always welcome to join my ranks, such gift would only be wasted. But more importantly, I have business to attend to with Sai" Orochimaru said, then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Where is Sai?" Yamato asked.
"He went to look for Sasuke, more importantly we have to reach him before Orochimaru finds him" Naruto said.
"Orochimaru is known for his random quirks, but this doesn't seem like a random action from him, he wanted us to part with Sai" Misaki said as she sheathed her katana.
"I have used up a lot of my chakra but I'll try to create as much Shadow clone as I can to hasten the search, you guys can search the other side" Naruto ordered as the team minus Sai began to regroup.
Sakura notice the already finished picture book and Naruto explained what had occurred earlier, but what Miskai observed was how Yamato busied himself to search the contents of Sai's abandoned bag.
"What the hell is this?" Yamato exclaimed as scanned through the contents of the book, before showing it to them, it was Sai's bingo book. Not long after that they saw a familiar face somewhere they least expected nor wanted to see. From that they were able to deduce Sai's true mission.
"That couldn't be true, after all he said earlier that he was going to save Sasuke and he really smile from the bottom of his heart, not like the-" Naruto's declaration was cut off by Sakura.
"What if was all an act in order to forestall you Naruto?" Sakura said, making Naruto rethink his words.
"The owner of this bingo book could indeed be capable of something like that" Yamato said, but before the argument can push through, Misaki grabbed the bingo book from Yamato's hands and from their attention, slamming it shut and placing it back in Sai's bag.
"Whatever Sai's actions, intentions or his feelings can only defended by him, we can't speak for him, so until then, I suggest we postpone this conversation and move on with our current predicament" Misaki said
"It's true, though his methods might have been questionable, he was getting rid of people who pose as a threat to the leaf, and as Orochimaru's new vessel, Sasuke posed such a threat, Sai wasn't betraying Konoha, it was for the sake of Konoha, that's exactly what one from a hard-line military faction would think up" Yamato finalized.
"His mission nor his actions are not important, what's important is meeting up with him and saving Sasuke"
"Indeed, I felt Sai's chakra earlier, we need to go quickly" Yamato ordered the team to proceeded to run…again. The air was thick with anxiety that only rose when a loud, earth shaking explosion erupted in the direction they were all heading to.
"What was that?!" Naruto stopped.
"It's Sai's chakra" Yamato answered then resumed running towards the direction of the explosion. After quite some time, they neared their destination and at the final turn of the hallway, was the light at the end of the tunnel, where in they saw Sai standing amidst debris.
"Found you" Sakura said and ran ahead of the group eager to get to Sai.
"Sakura!" Yamato yelled after her, but his bidding fell on deaf ears as Sakura grabbed Sai by his collar. They watched as Sakura was stunned into stopping then proceeding to stare right back where Sai was staring earlier. It didn't take them long to realize what could cause such a reaction for Sakura and Naruto ran towards Sakura, guns blazing.
"Why aren't you running after Sakura and Naruto, wasn't Sasuke your friend to?" Yamato asked as he noticed the petite unmoving form of Misaki stood next to him.
"I don't know," Misaki said, unsure of herself, she wasn't ready for this, and she doubted if she'll ever be ready for this, but her body refused to move, like she was locked in place.
"You don't have to if you don't want to" Yamato said.
"What I want is not important" Misaki said finally finding the resolve to move right after Yamato had begun walking towards the open space. Yamato gave Misaki the lead and let her enter alone to give her the time to regulate with the shock of seeing such an old face.
Misaki froze in place as she stared at the figure standing before them, barely even recognized as a silhouette against the brightly shinning sun behind. No words could even describe the turmoil of the cesspool of emotions Misaki is currently experiencing right now;
It's like the very first time meeting someone you have known for a long time, or seeing a stranger in a familiar place.,,
…but unlike her brother, she chose not to manifest it, wanted to keep her emotions to herself, not because she didn't want others to think that she didn't feel anything, rather a form of self-preservation.
And as their eyes connected, Misaki saw a deep dark night sky amidst the bright skies in his eyes, her breathing hitched along the movement of his mouth, and right there and there, he uttered the very first word exchanged between the two of them since their good byes.
"I see you've replaced your katana" Sasuke said noting that Misaki wasn't carrying her late sensei' sword anymore, but a completely different one.
"And you have taken a liking to swords as well" Misaki said voice a little hoarse and forced from trying not to stutter, feeling stupid for her choice of words, she had a list of things she wanted to say, wanted to ask when they see each other again, but those sentiments seem lost the moment she set eyes on him once again.
"My old team, so I'm guessing Kakashi is here too" Sasuke asked, but this is the time Yamato chose to reveal himself.
"I'm sorry Kakashi is not here, I'm his substitute and team 7 will now be taking you back to the village" Yamato exclaimed stepping forward.
"Team 7, which means" Sasuke looked over to the only alien face to him. At the sight of Sasuke's eyes on him, Sai unsheathed his weapon, posing, ready to fight at any moment's notice.
"Sai, I knew it!" Sakura yelled, but Misaki pulled her back before she can go any further.
"So this means he is my replacement, huh, someone soft has joined in once again" Sasuke said staring down at them.
"Sai is not here to merely fill the gap of your absence, Sai is Sai" Misaki said walking towards the said person and handing him his bag
"He said he wanted to protect my bonds" Sasuke said, as if the very air he was exhausting to utter the sentence was a complete drag.
"Sai, I thought your mission was to kill Sasuke" Sakura asked.
"Yes, my classified mission was indeed the assassination of Sasuke, but I've had enough of orders, now I want to act on my own beliefs, and I think Naruto will help me remember all my past emotions, I kind of get the feeling that it's something very important to me. I don't know who you are, but there must be some kind of reason why Naruto and Sakura have pursued you so desperately. They don't want to sever their bonds with you, they're giving it their all to secure those bonds, I still don't understand it all clearly, but Sasuke-kun you should understand" Sai declared, making Misaki smile at him, and placing a hand on his shoulder, a movement clearly did not go unnoticed by Sasuke.
*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$%$%$W$FIN*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$*_-+% =o#$
Here is it chapter nine, I hope you liked it.
P.S: Feel free to talk to me in the messages and I'll try to reply faster than my uploads
Also, I haven't finished with next chapter's outline hence the absent sneak peek, but I really wanted to upload this chapter already so, I'll update a little later for the sneak peek.
See you next chapter :{