Chapter 1
thoughts
"telepathic speaking"
flashback/dreams
author's notes (A/N)
"Simple,
I'll kill you if you try and stop me Naruto." He said.
"You can't, I know you can't. Friends don't kill each
other." Naruto looked pleadingly at his teammate. "Come on
back with me. Sakura and I will help you catch your brother. Just please co-."
Naruto stopped mid-sentence and slowly fell to his knees. "Sas-Sasuke."
Sasuke looked down at the fallen figure of his friend. His eyes
were both pleading and full of shock. "W-w-why?" He
asked before falling to the ground entirely his hand on the kunai
that Sasuke had plunged into his gut.
"You were always weak." Sasuke told him as Naruto raised his head. "Now die. Fireball jutsu!"
"No!" Sasuke shouted as he sat up in his bed. "It didn't happen that way. Naruto is still alive."
Since he had arrived at
Orochimaru's lair, he'd been having nightmares in which he killed
Naruto. Sometime he simply stabbed him with a kunai. In
others he would burn him with a fireball just like the one he had
just had.
"Naruto
is still alive. I didn't kill him. I couldn't my friend."
He
thought. "I'll
go get some fresh air. Then I'll feel better for sure. He
slowly made his way over to the doorway of his room trying not to
trip on scrolls and things that littered the floor. He stepped
out into the hall and looked both ways, as usual no one was there to
make sure he stayed there. Orochimaru didn't care where he
went as long as Sasuke didn't set free any of his prisoners. He started down the stealthily keeping to the shadows. Even
with his freedom he hated to be near Orochimaru's other followers. All they did was whisper things about him or shoot him dirty looks. They didn't understand him. No one did, not here or at the
village hidden in the leaves. Not even Naruto and they had both
grown up alone.
He leaned agianst the wall for a moment, his body begging for more sleep. The long days of vigorous training Orochimaru was putting him through was taking it's toll on his body. His arms were covered in numerous cuts and bruises, most of them only partially healed. His chakra level was low from the continuous use of his sharingan and the new jutsu he was practicing.
"Sasuke-kun." A voice said out of the darkness across from him. A young boy had his head stuck out of the doorway to his room. "What are you doing up?"
"Nothing Kinshou. Go back to sleep." Sasuke told him, watching as he shook his head no, his shaggy brown hair gently mimicing his movements. He was the only one here who Sasuke actually talked to and allowed around him.
"Can't I come with you? Please Sasuke-kun!" He begged, his big brown eyes making him look every bit as young as he was.
"No, you need your rest. Don't worry I'll tell you if anything exciting happens." Sasuke answered him, his voice filled with compasion. At first he had tried to keep away from the kid, not wanting any attachments like he had with Naruto and the rest of team 7, but it was easier said then done. Kinshou had immeaditly looked up to Sasuke when he arrived. To him Sasuke was as good as an older brother.
"O.K." The young ninja sighed. "You do promise though, right?"
"Of course. I couldn't break a promise to you." Sasuke told him then immeaditly regreted his choice of words as he saw Kinshou's eyes fill with tears. His sister had said those exact words to the young boy when she had left to train here with Orochimaru.
"She promised me she would come back. She didn't." Sasuke remembered the words Kinshou had told him when they had first talked. After his parents had died, Kinshou had made his way here to find her, but didn't. Since he was a good strategist Orochimaru had decided to keep him around. Kinshou really didn't hate Orochimaru, but he didn't like him either. Which is on thing I have in common with him.
Sasuke turned down the hallway and countinued his journey to the entrance. As he neared the door heh felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, letting him know he was being watched. he turned expecting to see Kinshou following him but instead saw a large black wolf standing there, watching him.
What is Orochimaru's pet doing out here? He thought. I've only seen it once, when I first came here. It's name was...
"Sasuke, don't fear my pet here, she'll only attack on my command." The snake sanin laughed evily. His hand resting on a large black wolf's head as it laid beside his chair, sleeping.
"Her name is Shikyo." Kabuto spoke up from behind him.
"Death? Why would you call her that." Sasuke carefully looked at Shikyo. As if she could sense him, she opened one eye and looks directly at him. Her eye was a bluey-gary color defined by a black circle.
Those same eyes were now watching him. Her tail was wagging slightly, kind of playfully. "Shoo, go away." Sasuke whispered, hoping she would listen to him. She didn't. Instead her tail wagged a little more, this time in an extremly playful manner. "No, Shikyo go away."
Instead of listening to him she came closer and sat in front of him within arms reach. Slowly he reached out his hand to pet her but froze as he remembered that she had snapped at Kabuto when he had tried to pet her.
Shikyo whinned and butted her head agianist his hand. Without realizing it he began to pet her. "You're coming with me outside aren't you?"
She nodded, seeming to understand exactly what he said.
"Come on then." Sasuke told her and then they walked out into the dark forest.
"Where is Shikyo, Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked his follower in his dry, slithery voice. He sat apoun a throne in a dark room, four candles burning around him. His yellow eyes casually flicked to Kabuto's face before settling on a scroll that lay open on the table in front of him.
"She's outside, prowling around with Sasuke." Kabuto answered, his own voice sounded weaker then his lord's but it was dipped in acid and a love of pain. His glasses flashed as he pushed them back into postion so they wouldn't fall off. "Don't worry, Sasuke doesn't know who she really is yet, and she can't change back unless I let her." He held up a chain with a small navy blue stone on it that usally hung about his neck, hidden under his shirt. He smiled nastily, making it look more like a sneer.
Orochimaru laughed evily in reply and said, "Very good." He dismissed Kabuto with a wave of his hand, he had plans to take care of.
Sasuke looked down at Shikyo as she laid next to him, her eyes closed. It had become the custom to sit on the roof everynight he had his nightmares, which were practically every night. They were becoming more and more frequent as well as more distirbing as he progressed in his training. In the last one he had killed not only Naruto, but Sakura and Kakashi as well. What was worse, is the fact that he had a little feelings for Sakura. She hasd been growing on him the longer team seven had spent together. And killing Kakashi, his sensi. The one who had taught him the chidori. He felt a connection to the jouni which puzzled even him. Why am I having these damn nightmares?!
Shikyo raised her head and looked at him worried. That was one thing he had noticed as he had spent moer time with her. SHe seemed to be able to pick up on his thoughts or feelings and acted in a human like manner in her responses, wether it was a look or a gentle nudge. It was uncanny, but it was comforting to know some one here cared. Well someone besides Kinshou. He thought, his mind turning away from hsi dreams to the young shinobi. He had anxouis to meet Shikyo when Sasuke had told him the next morning after teh first night she had accompanied him to the roof. He allowed his mind to drift back to two nights ago...
Sasuke snuck slowly down the hall, Kinshou following him like a shadow. As they approached the place that Shikyo usally met up with him, Sasuke feel Kinshou's anxiety mount. He turned to teh young boy, "Don't worry, she's really nice." He told him, but Kinshou shook his head.
"It's not her I'm scared of. It's Kabuto." The boy stopped as Sasuke paused at the conner. "Is he there?"
"No, why would he be?"
"Well, he's always telling her what to do and she listens." He paused before following Sasuke who had already walked over by the wolf. "It's like she's his pet and not Orochimaru's."
"Don't worry Kinshou. I don't think she's either of their pet." Sasuke watched as the boy petted Shikyo's head. She looked at the boy with her eyes, and he lauged.
"What Kinshou?" Sasuke asked, feeling like he missed something.
"She just told me that I'm a lot smarter than you cause I'm listening and understanding her." He smiled back and she rubbed her head agianist his hand and licked his cheek.
"You can talk to her?" Sasuke asked, surprised. "I didn'tr know you could.
"Yeah of course I can. I was born knowing how to talk with animals. It's part of my families kekkai genkai." Kinshou fell silent for amoment before asking where they were going tonight.
"The roof." Sasuke answered as he followed the boy and wolf out into the night. Another person with a kekkai genkai. And he may be the last of his clan, just like that Haku guy. He sat next to Kinshou and Shikyo. Together they watched the moon for the brief seconds you could see it in the sky between the trees.
Sasuke looked at Shikyo thoughtfully. I wonder if I could learn to talk to her. Kinshou said I could learn but he couldn't teach me. Shikyo looked up at him as if sensing what he was thinking. "Could I really talk to you?" He asked her, waiting for her to speak. She didn't answer. "That's what I thought."
"Listen closer dimmwit." Her eyes seemed to say to him. She shook her head as if to chastize him for not listening.
"Hey, I am listening closly. You just aren't uttering a word." Sasuke gently snapped at her, then laughed at himself for speaking out loud to an animal that would answer back. I came here to get stronger, not softer. He mentally punished himself for getting attached to something and not focusing on getting stronger than his brother. He rose to his feet and jumped off the roof. "No." He said to Shkyo as she got up to follow him. "Go away." He said more harshly than he wanted to. He knew that she understood by the way she growled at him before stalking off into the trees. Sorry girl but I can't have anything distacting me from my goal. I'm an avanger and nothing more. He slowly built up the walls that hid his feelings from the world. The same wall he tore down when he was with Shikyo or Kinshou. He was once agian the silent brooding boy who was one of the last Uchihas.
"Today is a little different Sasuke." Orochimaru declared as he entered the training room, on balcony that lead to his 'throne room', as Kinshou called it. "Today we have an opponent for you that is quite the fighter. Her name is Kyo." As he said this a girl stepped out of the shadows an the main floor below the snake sannin. She had light brown, almost coppery colored hair that fell about to her sholders. She was dressed ready for a battle in long shorts and a slevless shirt, kind of like the one Tenten uased to wear, except it was a deep navy and almost blended in with her black shorts.
"Kabuto!" Orochimaru called, his voice echoing around the room. "Explain what they are going to do." He told his right handman as he appeared next to him.
Kabuto nodded and jumped down to the floor, landing in between the two shinobi. "You are to join forces and head out into the forest. There are several hidden shinobi waiting to ambush you or escape with secrets that should not get out. Find and take care of them before they get away." He looked at both of them to make sure they were following what he said. "You can split up or anything else you deem nessesary to complete this mission. Report back here when you are done."
Kyo glanced at Sasuke, her eyes conveying a message that he couldn't figure out due to the fact that he was to obsorrbed in trying to remember where he had seen her eyes before. They where a bluey-gray defined by a black circle. Just forget it. He thought. I've got more pressing things to worry about. He turned to watch the large doors as they opened slowly letting what little light filtered through the trees enter the room.
"Ready?" Kabuto asked, his glasses reflecting the light and hiding his eyes. "GO!" He shouted as the two vanished, running off into the trees. After a minute of waiting he turned to Orochimaru. "I don't think he knows." He commented, laughing.
"He doesn't, but she does. I hope she doesn't try kill him when they return. It would make me very mad to half to kill her. She's too vaulable." The snake sannin thoughtfully looked at the path Sasuke ans Shikyo had taken. "Give her free reign, I don't want her gettin gto hurt before her mission." He told Kabuto before stepping back into the door way to his "throne room".
Kabuto nodded and took a blood red stone shaped like the moon out of his pocket and focused hios chakra on it. In answer it flashed once and turned black. Then he put it away and went down another hallway, to his own rooms.