Chapter 24: Snake Bite

Kabuki grabbed onto Fenrir's fur and he jumped back. The snake just barely missed them, but the force from the attack separated them. "Kyaa!" Kabuki shouted. She hit a small branch and clung to it. "Ugh…Ack…Fe-Fenrir! Where are you?" There was no response. "Fenrir!" She looked back to see her wolf, unconscious, lying on a branch. "Fenrir! Wake up!" Hiss, hiss. She gasped and turned back to see the giant snake in front of her. "No!" It opened it's mouth, but she moved out of the way. "Ah!" She closed her eyes. "M-Mommy! Kabuto! Fenrir! Someone! Please help me! I'm…I'm scared! I...I need help…" Tears began to stream down her face. I want to run away. Run as far as I can…But I can't leave Fenrir! What can I do? I'm…I'm just a kid…No… She shook her head. …No…I'm a ninja…Albeit a medical one, but I'm still a ninja nonetheless! I might have missed my graduation, but that doesn't mean…that I can't fight! She quickly jumped again when she heard the snake behind her. "Besides, even though it's huge, it's just a snake!" She grabbed her senbon needles and threw them at the snake's face. It recoiled a bit, but kept coming. "Hmm, my senbon needles don't seem to have much of an effect…I'd better use a paralysis jutsu then!" She reached into her pouch and pulled out a stick of incense. "This medicinal anesthetic incense should calm him down!" She brought out her flute. "I bet a little snake charming might help!" She played an ominous melody on her flute. The snake suddenly stopped moving and stared at her. "Perfect!" She then lit the incense and did a hand sign with it. "Dreaming Souls no Jutsu!" The snake's eyes widened as it tried to move. "What's the matter? Stuck?" A smirk crossed her lips. "No matter, just hold still!" She put her flute to her lips again. "Sonic Pitch no Jutsu!" A high pitch frequency emitted from the flute. Blood trickled down from the snake's eyes, then it fell over.

Kabuki just stood there for a while. "…Wh…" She fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands. "Wahhh!" She started to cry.

"…Agh…Wh-Why…are you crying?"

She spun around to see Fenrir. "Fenrir!" She hugged him tightly. "Oh Fenrir!"

"What's wrong? You just beat that snake!"

"Fenrir, I'm scared. I don't know how I was able to beat that thing, but I'm scared. I thought that I was gonna…gonna die…"

"Kabuki, don't worry. That would never happen. I'll protect you."

"But you were unconscious! I just want this nightmare to be over! I want everything to go back to normal!"

He licked her cheek. Kabuki…poor thing…She's just…a young child…

"My, my, how touching."

The two companions whipped around and gasped in shock. "…O…Oro…?"

Orochimaru smiled. "What's the matter Kabuki? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Kabuki leaned into Fenrir. "…What do you want?"

"Is that anyway to greet me?" He smirked.

"I know who you are and what you're planning to do! I will not work for you and I WILL NOT let you harm my mother and friends!"

"Then tell me…" he suddenly appeared behind her, "…how you plan to stop me."

Her eyes widened. No…

"I need to test your powers, child. HAAA!" He punched her in the back and sent her flying forward.

"AGH!" She hit another tree hard.

Fenrir barked loudly. "Kabuki!"

"Don't hold back Kabuki," Orochimaru said. "I must know your true strength."

XXXX

"AH!" Kabuki landed on her back as she received another blow to the stomach.

"Get up!" Orochimaru shouted.

She struggled to get to her feet. "…I…I can't…"

"Kabuki! I'm coming!" Fenrir jumped in front of his master. "Kabuki, you know what to do!" He ran behind Kabuki and snatched a smoke bomb from her pouch. "Eat this you bastard!" He threw the bomb at Orochimaru's feet.

"What? A smoke bomb?" Orochimaru exclaimed.

"Kabuki, now!"

"Ugh…R-Right!" She weakly did a hand sign. "Human-Wolf Transfer no Jutsu!"

Orochimaru coughed as he listened for any sounds through the smoke. "Hmm…?" When the smoke cleared, he saw Kabuki and Fenrir right in front of him. "What's this?"

"Oh no! I didn't have enough chakra to perform the jutsu!" Kabuki cried. "Fenrir!"

"It seems as if this fighting isn't going as I expected. Kabuki, don't prove yourself to be a failure!"

"I bet you didn't expect this you bastard!" she shouted back. She suddenly disappeared.

"What!"

"AAHH!" She suddenly reappeared in front of him and slashed at his chest with her nails. She disappeared again.

"Damn, she's fast. Wait…that can't be human speed, could it?"

"Over here!" She reappeared again under his right arm. "You're right, this isn't human speed!" She jumped up and bit his arm.

"What is this!"

Fenrir charged after Orochimaru. He has no idea that Fenrir and I switched bodies! Now that Fenrir made him bleed, I can smell his chakra network thanks to Fenrir's keen nose! "AROOO!" She jumped at him and sunk her teeth right into his chest.

"AAGH!"

"Release!" Fenrir said. Kabuki and Fenrir's bodies fell useless for a moment, but they suddenly regained consciousness. "How do you like that!" Kabuki shouted. For some odd reason…I…I don't feel…afraid…I think fighting this guy is making me…a little…stronger…

Orochimaru held his chest. "Hmph, this is what I wanted. This is what I've been waiting for! No let's see what you can do against this!" He wet his fingers with his blood, rolled up his sleeve, then spread it across a marking on his arm. "Summoning Jutsu: Giant Boa!" A huge suddenly appeared out of nothing.

"A summoning jutsu!"

"And that snake's a whole lot bigger than the last one we fought! Kabuki, get on my back!" Fenrir commanded.

"Okay!" She jumped on his back.

He dodged an attack from the snake. "Listen Kabuki, I'm gonna keep dodging this snake's attacks so you can restore your chakra."

"Why?"

"Duh! So you can counter his summon jutsu with a summon of your own!"

"I might not have enough chakra to do the best one…"

"Then use one that you have enough chakra for!"

"Okay!" She reached into her pouch. "I can't use my chakra restoration technique on myself, but I can use my special medicine juice, Spirit Solution." She pulled out a small bottle. "I can't drink too much or I'll hurt myself." She took a quick sip, then put the cap back on. "Okay! I think I can try out one of my summoning techniques for the first time! Fenrir put me down!"

"Arf!" He landed on a tree branch and let her down.

"Here goes!" She removed her right glove, revealing a mark. She rubbed her fingers in her blood and smeared it on her arm. She did the same thing with her flute.

Orochimaru watched with fascination. "Oh? What is that? This…This girl…" He shook with excitement.

"I'll make sure that you never forget who I am Orochimaru! I am Hino Kabuki and someday I will be the greatest medical ninja in the world! So take this! Summoning Jutsu: Fenrir!" She played a hypnotic song on her flute. Fenrir stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes glowed white. He let out a roar, then suddenly increased ten times in size. "Fenrir!" He rushed at the giant snake and began to bite its neck. The two animals went at it while their masters let them feed on their chakra. Fenrir grabbed the snake by the neck again, then twisted it in a brutal manner. It fell over and its jaw dropped.

"No…It can't…be…She…She stopped my snake with that wolf of hers…and it was a summon…" Orochimaru smirked. She's proven herself worthy. Her power…I must have it!

"Fenrir, come back!" Kabuki shouted. The wolf quickly changed back into his normal self. "Fenrir, that was amazing!" He ran back over to her and barked.

Now, it's time for my final move… Orochimaru suddenly disappeared.

"Hey, where'd he go! Did he run away!" she asked.

"Kabuki! Be alert! I know he wouldn't give up like that! You must attack when you hear him!"

"Right!" She readied two senbon needles. "I'll aim for his neck!" Where could he be? She listened closely to her surroundings. I have a highly sensitive sense of sound. Nothing can go by unnoticed by my ears! She closed her eyes. The faintest of sounds… There was a rustling in the leaves behind her. Behind me! To Fenrir, it seemed as if it almost happened in slow motion, but in reality, it was over in a flash. He froze, along with Kabuki as they stared at the senbon needles in the neck of the person coming behind them. Mitsuki. "…Mom…M-Mommy…?" Mitsuki just stood there, making small noises. "Mommy? Speak to me." Tears formed in her mother's eyes. "Mommy, please…"

"Ka…bu…ki…" Mitsuki dropped a small locket.

"Mommy?" She began to cry as well. "Mommy! Please! You'll be alright! Don't worry, I'll just-" Mitsuki fell over and slipped off the edge of the branch. "Mommy!" Kabuki screamed as she reached out for her mother who fell onto the branch below. "Don't worry! I'm coming!"

"You're not going anywhere." Orochimaru suddenly appeared before her and Fenrir. "That's a shame. Killing your own mother." He looked her straight in the eyes. "You can always…serve me…"

She gasped as she witnessed something horrible in her mind's eye. "AAAHHHH!"

----

Mitsuki opened her eyes. "U-Ugh…I-It…F-Feels funny t-to…breathe…" She felt her neck and touched the sharp needles. "These are…Kabuki's…" She got to her feet. "Thank God…th-that she missed…my vital s-spot…"

"AAAHHHH!"

"Ka-Kabuki?" She looked up. "Something is going on, but I don't know what!" She started to climb up the branch. "I'm coming s-sweetheart!" When she reached the top, she found Fenrir and her daughter sitting down with a look of pure terror on their faces. "No! Wh-What's going on!"

"Heh heh heh!"

She looked over to see Orochimaru a bit far away from Kabuki. "N…No…NO!" He had just completed a hand sign. "I know that sign!" She ran towards her daughter. "I have to get Kabuki out of there or else!" KABUKI! She closed her eyes when she felt something sharp dig into her shoulder. "AAHH!" Kabuki…It's alright…Orochimaru…won't hurt you… When she opened her eyes, she flushed pale. "…No…No…" She looked back at her shoulder. A long snake was attached to her. "No…" She looked back at Orochimaru. "…This…It…" Kabuki let out a horrible scream as she snapped out of her daze. "I…I was…too late…"

Orochimaru retracted back and licked blood off his lips. "Yes, Kabuki will make a nice addition to my collection…" He looked at the stunned Mitsuki. "Aah, there you are Mitsuki! Too bad we couldn't chat, but I know we'll be seeing each other very soon!"

She looked at him. "You bastard! You put that-"

"Oh, and I hope you don't mind that I gave Kabuki a late birthday gift." He grinned morbidly, then disappeared. "Mitsuki…you can do whatever you like…but you can't save her…She will be mine…"

"Shut up!" She shook her head and ran over to Kabuki. "Kabuki!"

"AGGHH! It's hurts! Make it stop!" Kabuki screamed.

Mitsuki held her. "Kabuki, it'll be alright."

Wh…What? Kabuki's screams pierced Fenrir's ears. Kabuki! He ran to Kabuki's side and licked her forehead.

"AAAAHHH!" She suddenly passed out.

"Kabuki?" Mitsuki's eyes filled with tears. "…No…He…He put that…that thing on her…That curse mark…" She saw three small, black marks appear on Kabuki's neck. "Fenrir…Kabuki might…She might…die…"

What! No!

"I…I don't know to do…I don't know how to help her…I…" She shut her eyes and looked up. "Someone please help me! My daughter is on the verge of losing her life!" Fenrir howled sadly. "Oh Fenrir!" She grabbed the wolf with her free arm and hugged him. "What can we do!"