Chapter Eight:

~3rd POV

"And she fainted, just like that," Yoshiko said.

Nanako held her chin in thought, humming to herself softly. She looked at Ryoma from the corner of her eye. "And your thoughts?"

Ryoma looked up and met his sensei's gaze. "She must have something to do with whatever's happening to this village. Some kind of connection."

Yoshiko jumped up. "You don't think she's involved with this, do you?" she asked accusingly.

"Of course not," Ryoma shot back. "But remember what she said. She told us the type of behavior the villagers are displaying was familiar to her. This could be connected to whatever happened to her when she was a prisoner."

Nanako closed her eyes and brushed a hand through her hair. "So it's possible Orochimaru is behind this," she sighed. She faced her students. "You did good work today. You all kept your cool and analyzed the situation with open minds. Unfortunately, I didn't imagine Tsuki would have this kind of reaction to everything going on." She turned her gaze to Ryoma specifically. "Your assessment of Orochimaru being involved is plausible. If it is the case, Tsuki may have some answers to help us reverse this behavior."

"It feels wrong," Yoshiko said. She looked at Tsuki, who was resting in one of the beds. "She's been through so much already, and we have to bring up her bad memories just to figure out how to complete this mission."

Nanako sympathized with her students. She was their age not too long ago, and she understood how hard it was for someone so young to go through a trauma and have to beat through it.

"Tsuki did experience a very traumatic point in her life," she said, "and at a very young age. But, despite that, she chose to become a ninja. Lord Hokage wanted her in the academy, it's true, but he would never force her. She could have easily learned to defend herself outside the academy. She chose this life, and now she has to own up to her decision. Her life as a ninja will force her to do one of two things. Either she'll have to let go of her past, or she'll have to embrace it. It's as simple as that."

"Is it really that simple, though?" Ryoma asked.

"It's the life of a shinobi, through and through. You're all young, despite being older than most of the other genin. Every single one of you will have to make difficult decisions in your life should you continue to pursue this path. Our history shows us that. However, that doesn't mean you have to do it alone. Tsuki has the both of you, and others back at the village to help her. It works both ways."

Nanako smirked. "There will be people who tell you that you need to do things on your own to be a successful ninja. They'll tell you that you can't rely on anyone but yourself. But those guys are a bunch of stiffs. Against all odds, you guys got each other. As long as you hold onto that, you guys can get through anything."

Yoshiko and Ryoma nodded, feeling inspiration from their sensei's words. They would help Tsuki through this, and whatever else she may face. And they knew she would do the same for them.


~Tsuki's POV

I was suddenly aware that I was on a soft surface. A bed. I sat up, pulling my knees up and resting my head on my hand. What in the world happened? I remembered being in the village with my teammates, the villagers behaving strangely, and the hissing.

A door opened, making me look up. Yoshiko was walking into the room, but stopped when she saw me. She smiled and poked her head back out the door.

"Sensei, she's awake!" She continued toward the bed I was resting on and sat on the edge next to me. She pouted. "Man, you really know how to give me scared, Tsuki."

I looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about?

"That you do." I looked up and saw Nanako-sensei and Ryoma walk into the room. "We were worried," Nanako-sensei said, folding her arms. "How are you feeling?"

Physically I felt fine, aside from a slight soreness in my head. I was just…

"Confused."

Nanako-sensei nodded. "I bet you are. Honestly, I'd be concerned if you weren't confused. What do you remember?"

I thought about it for a minute. The hissing sound. The way it grew louder the more I looked for the source. Then nothing. With that in mind, I told the others what I could remember in the best way I could.

"A hissing sound?" Yoshiko asked. "Like a…" She looked at the others as she trailed off.

"Like a snake," Ryoma finished.

Nanako-sensei nodded. "Your theory is coming together, Ryoma. Well done."

"Thanks," he muttered halfheartedly. He seemed to be in deep thought. He looked at me. "You fainted in the middle of the street. Yoshi and I brought you back here."

I nodded, connecting the blank parts of my memory of what happened.

Nanako-sensei sighed. "Tsuki, this may be difficult for you. But you may be the only one who can help us figure out what's happening to this village. I need you to try your best to let go of any emotions this may bring up and face it bravely. Do you understand?"

I hesitated. Her words scared me, and the fact that she was so serious scared me even more. Nanako-sensei is normally upbeat, fun-loving, optimistic. But I reminded myself that Nanako-sensei is a jounin, and she didn't get that rank easily. Right now, I was seeing Nanako Tsuzumuchi, Jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village.

I glanced to my teammates. They wore similar expressions. But unlike Nanako-sensei, their eyes gave away their true feelings. Yoshiko was worried, trying to avoid eye contact with me. Ryoma was stoic as usual, but I could see concern and worry in his eyes.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, bracing myself for what my teacher was about to say to me. I moved to the edge of the bed and stood up, facing Nanako-sensei with what I hoped looked like determination on my face.

Nanako-sensei seemed to have noticed. "Ryoma shared his thoughts with us when you were resting. We think whatever's happening here has a connection with your time in captivity."

"A connection?"

"In other words," Ryoma said, "Orochimaru may have something to do with this."

My breath hitched in my throat, and I found it hard to breathe suddenly. Orochimaru? Here?

The feeling of someone resting a hand on my back shocked me back, and I started breathing normally again. Yoshiko was next to me, rubbing my back gently so as to encourage me.

"I'd really hate to ask," Nanako-sensei said, bringing my attention back to her. "But I need to know if you could tell us anything about your captivity that may have any relation to the behavior the villagers are displaying. The others mentioned you felt it was familiar."

I nodded. I sat on the bed and closed my eyes, trying hard to think about my time in Orochimaru's hideouts.

"The prisoners Orochimaru used for his experiments," I relayed. "They acted strangely before they disappeared."

"Experiments?" Yoshiko repeated warily. "You mean, these villagers are being experimented on after they go missing?"

"If Orochimaru is behind this, then it's possible," Nanako-sensei said. "Which gives us all the more reason to stop this."

"Something bothers me, though," Ryoma spoke up. "There hasn't been any signs of Orochimaru actually being here or around this village. No evidence except that this behavior and the disappearances following are in line with what Tsuki remembers. Not to mention, when the villagers disappear, where do they go?"

Nanako-sensei stayed silent. This was her way of testing us, letting us think like a ninja. I thought about what Ryoma said. There was no evidence that it was actually Orochimaru pulling the strings, but this was definitely something of his doing.

"His followers." I signed.

Nanako-sensei nodded. "Orochimaru may be the mastermind in this fiasco, but he could have one of his trustworthy followers doing the dirty work."

"What if they're taking the villagers to a sort of base?" Yoshiko offered.

"Orochimaru is known for having several hideouts across multiple countries."

Ryoma looked at our teacher. "He probably has a hideout around here somewhere. If we can locate it, we can save the villagers, stop whoever's doing this, and shut down one of his hideouts in the process."

"Be careful of what you say, Ryoma," Nanako-sensei warned. "Get too cocky and you put your whole team at risk."

"No offense, sensei, but it's not cockiness that makes me say that," he shot back. "Our mission is to investigate the phenomenon here. Our investigation isn't over. All we have now is a probable theory. The only way to continue this mission is to further investigate and look into our theory by searching for the hideout and figuring out who's behind this. And you said it yourself, we may have to fight an enemy that wasn't precedent in the initial mission. We have to continue." He looked at me. "Not just for the villagers' sakes, but also for Tsuki's. I think you'd feel a little closure if we did this, right?"

I gazed at him, giving him a gracious smile and a small nod. I would feel some closure. Knowing that I pushed Orochimaru a step back, the idea of it filled me with a new determination.

"Yeah!" Yoshiko cheered. "There's no way we can turn tail and fly home when this opportunity is in front of us, sensei! Besides, if we do that, the enemy might realize and get away before we send a team out here to take care of them. Or worse, they speed up their creepiness and there'll be no more villagers left for us to save."

"What do you say, Nanako-sensei?" Ryoma asked.

I stood next to Yoshiko. Nanako-sensei looked at Ryoma, then Yoshiko, then me. I nodded, showing I was ready. I needed to do this. If not for myself, then for my clan.

Nanako-sensei smirked. "I say I have the best team in the Leaf Village. Kakashi's team is gonna have a hard time showing up you three."

We grinned, realizing our sensei was behind us in this mission.

"We should get ready," Nanako-sensei said. We'll head out before dawn in a search. So rest up, kids."

"Actually, sensei, before we leave…" Yoshiko looked at me. She rubbed the back of my head, as if nervous to speak to me. "Tsuki, I probably don't want to know the answer, but it's gonna bug me if I don't ask. What…kind of experiments did Orochimaru do on those people?"

Her question caught me off guard, to say the least. My first thought was a memory. The memory of the screams and crying I heard from the prisoners. I shuddered, but I pushed the thought away in hopes that I could remember something else about those sleepless nights. I could only remember one word that I heard him say many times before.

"Transfer."