Disclaimer: If I owned the Naruto characters... Oh come on! you and I both know I don't!
Claimer: I do own Tsukiyo and Keiji and if anyone says otherwise, Tsukiyo will paralyse you!
"I just don't see how Orochimaru expects us to spy on the Konoha ninja. They all know that I work for him so they'll figure out our purpose instantly…" Kabuto continued to ramble on.
Tsukiyo rolled her eyes. "Kabuto, you forget that it is I who is supposed to spy on them. You are simply to take me to Konoha and be my back up in case of trouble. You will remain in hiding and will not be seen by Konoha shinobi so you have nothing to worry about."
"Oh…" Kabuto fell silent.
"How far are we from Konoha?" Tsukiyo inquired.
"About an hour or so away." Was the reply.
Tsukiyo raised an eyebrow. "Only an hour?"
Kabuto nodded. "Yeah. We made good time." He hesitated. "What is it exactly that you are supposed to be finding out?"
Tsukiyo sighed. "The approximate strength of their shinobi. In particular the vessel of the Kyuubi."
Kabuto looked at her. "You mean Uzumaki Naruto?"
Tsukiyo looked at him pointedly. "You know any other kid who holds the Kyuubi?"
"You know he was Sasuke's when they were younger right?" Kabuto asked.
Tsukiyo's head snapped around. "Really?"
Kabuto nodded. "Yep! Those two were considered some of the top rookies of the Chunin exams."
Tsukiyo thoughtfully processed this piece of information. Hanging out with this "Naruto" kid, might prove to be rather interesting.
When Sasuke awoke in his cage that morning, Tsukiyo had already left. He sat in the corner of his cell thinking about nothing in particular for about an hour when the door of the sitting room opened and Orochimaru entered.
"Good morning Sssssasssuke. Did you ssssleep well?" The snake man inquired with a sneer.
Sasuke remained silent as Orochimaru took out a key and unlocked to door to his cage. Orochimaru took his leash and roughly pulled him out of the cell. "Come on sssslave." He hissed and proceeded to lead the boy out of the room and down the hallway.
Orochimaru knocked lightly on the door. It opened and Itachi motioned the inside. "Well, here he issss." Orochimaru said, tossing the leash to Itachi who caught it with a smirk. "Do you want me to have hissss cage brought here?"
Itachi shook his head. "Nah. I won't need it. He won't have a chance at escaping, you can be certain of that."
Orochimaru nodded. "Alright then, I'll ssssee you at dinner." And with that he turned and exited the room.
Itachi locked the door and then turned his attention to his little brother who stood stock still, waiting for whatever was to come next.
"Well this ought to be an amusing next few days." Itachi mused. Sasuke grit his teeth and glared at his older brother.
Itachi stood silently for a moment, studying Sasuke. Then he turned and walked over to an open trunk that stood at the side of the bed. He pulled a bundle out of it and turned to Sasuke. "Come here."
Sasuke stepped over to where Itachi stood. "What?" he came dangerously close to snapping.
Itachi overlooked his attitude and said. "I have something for you."
Sasuke stepped back. "I don't want anything from you Itachi!"
SMACK!
Itachi slapped him before he even saw it coming. "You will address me as Itachi sama." Itachi ordered. "And this," he began to unwrap the bundle, "is not a gift that you have the choice whether or not to accept it. This is something that you will take because I order you to.
He pulled away the cloth unveiling a device that both surprised and infuriated Sasuke. "A shock collar?! You really think I'm going to wear that thing?!"
Itachi smirked. "No. I know you're going to wear it." He replied simply. Itachi gave Sasuke's leash a hard tug causing the smaller boy to stumble into him. He grabbed hold Sasuke's collar of and had it off in less time than it takes to blink. He then replaced it with the shock collar before giving Sasuke a shove that sent the boy sprawling.
Sasuke hit the floor with an "Ooof!"
Itachi chuckled. "Okaaaaay… let's see how well this collar works." He pressed one of the buttons on the remote control that went to the collar.
ZZZZAAAAP!!!!!
"AAAAAAHHH!" Sasuke screamed in pain. He writhed and thrashed about. Itachi just laughed.
"S-s-st-t-o-p-p! P-p-plea-s-s-se s s-t-to-p-p!" He begged.
"What was that my slave?" Itachi taunted, pressing the button down harder.
"Aaaaaahhh!" As a ninja, Sasuke was accustomed to dealing with pain, but never in his entire life, had he dealt with anything like this. It was intolerable! "Aaaaaahhh!"
Finally Itachi removed his finger from the button and the pain ceased. Sasuke collapsed, gasping, and too weak even to lift his finger.
Itachi smirked and walked over to where he lay. "How do you feel now Sasuke?"
Sasuke was to exhaust to reply.
Itachi's smirk grew. "That's a taste of what you will receive if you disobey me. And if I grow bored of it there's always…" he reached into the trunk again and pulled out a long, lethal looking whip, "…this. So I suggest that you do as I tell you."
Sasuke took a shaky breath and nodded slightly. "H-Hai Itachi sama."
"Here we are. Konoha." Kabuto announced.
Tsukiyo rolled her eyes. "As if I can't see that." She sighed. "Alright, where is this, Naruto kid anyway?"
"Probably at the Ramen shop." Kabuto said. "According to Sasuke, that's where Naruto spends most of his time."
"Okay then, you find a place to lie low. I'm heading to the Ramen shop."
"But…" Kabuto never got to finish because Tsukiyo walked off without a word.
Tsukiyo entered the Ramen shop and was crashed smack into someone. She and the other person went sprawling.
"Oh! Sorry about that? You okay?" A male voice asked.
Glancing up, Tsukiyo came face to face with a grinning blond with topaz eyes and strange, whisker marks on his face. The boy wore a fur-trimmed jumpsuit that was the most outrageous shade of orange. He sported Konoha fore head protector.
"Uh… Yeah, I'm fine." Tsukiyo replied after a moment. "Sorry for bumping you."
"Oh, no problem. Hey, you're new here aren't ya?"
Tsukiyo nodded. "Yeah."
The kid grinned and Tsukiyo noticed that he had fangs. Odd… She thought. He reminds me of a Kitsune. Could he be part Anthro? Allowed, she said, "I'm Tsukiko." Orochimaru had suggested she not use her real name, so she had changed it slightly.
The kid grinned. "Nice to meet you. I'm Naruto!"
Tsukiyo's eyes widened. "Uzumaki Naruto?" She inquired. "You mean, you're the Jinchuuriki of Konoha?"
Naruto nodded. "Believe it!"
Tsukiyo smiled. "It's nice to meet you Naruto." Bingo! She thought.
"Hey! Naruto!" Tsukiyo and Naruto spun around to see a group of kids, all of whom were wearing the Konoha forehead protector.
"What's up Neji?" Naruto asked.
A dark haired boy with the pearly eyes that Tsukiyo knew to be the trademark of the Hyuga clan gestured to them. "We're going to go train. You coming?"
Naruto nodded. "Sure." He looked at Tsukiyo. "Want to come?"
Tsukiyo couldn't believe her luck. Awesome! At this rate, I'll be able to observe every young ninja in Konoha and get back to the Orochimaru's place in less than three days. She grinned. "You bet!"
"Sasuke!" Itachi's voice rang out from the next room.
Sasuke wearily hurried into Itachi's room as fast as possible, but it was rather difficult because of the fact that his ankles were chained together, forcing him to take very small steps so that he was shuffling more than walking.
"Hai?" he inquired.
Crack!
Sasuke found himself lying on the ground with pain shooting up and down his back. he touched his back and felt warm blood streaming from a angry gash. He looked up and saw that Itachi held the whip in his hand and that the tip of it was dripping with fresh blood as well.
"You didn't bow." Itachi told him. "A slave should remember to bow to his master."
Sasuke climbed to his feet.
"Now bow." Itachi ordered.
Sasuke hesitated.
"Bow or else I'll use the whip again." Itachi threatened.
Sasuke glanced nervously at the whip and did as he was ordered.
"Good boy." Itachi smirked. "Now then, what time is it?"
Sasuke sighed. "About two-thirty a.m." he replied.
Itachi nodded and smiled evilly. "You're looking rather tired. I'll have to do something to get you to wake up." He thought a moment. "I think I have it…" He placed his hand under Sasuke's chin and forced the boy to look up at him. "What say we review your memories?"
Sasuke looked at him in confusion.
Suddenly, Itachi's eyes flashed red and Sasuke found himself trapped within Itachi's illusionary world.
"Aaaah! No! Stop!" Sasuke cried out as visions of his parent's death began to flash before his eyes. The old emotions came back with the force of a cyclone, cruelly torturing his already sorely tormented mind. Tears coursed down his cheeks; it was all so real! He could here his mother's hysterical screams and the cries of his cousins. He could see the panic-stricken eyes of his father as Itachi's blade pierced through his heart. He could smell the scent of blood and it made him nauseous.
"Itachi! Stop! PLEASE!!!!!" Sasuke screamed. He felt, though he could not see, the lash hit his back.
"It's Itachi sama to you!" Itachi shouted.
"I'm sorry! Please stop Itachi sama!" Sasuke yelped. He couldn't stand the memories that Itachi was showing him. Itachi had chosen the most graphic and horrific memories to recall. Sasuke felt himself loosing control as the ghastly images dangled tauntingly before his eyes, submerging him in an ocean despair and agony. Sasuke felt as though he couldn't breath. He was trembling to badly that he could no longer stand on his own and collapsed to the floor.
Itachi let out a sadistic laugh and deactivated his sharingan. "Oh, Sasuke. You are so pathetic! I can't believe that anyone related to me could be so traumatized by a trivial little allusion!"
Sasuke took a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut. I can't stand this anymore! He thought desperately.
Tsukiyo sat on a stump watching Neji and Lee duke it out. Naruto was sparing with a kid called Kiba not far away.
"Tsukiko?" a voice at Tsukiyo's right spoke up. Her head snapped around. "Hey…Sa…Sa…Sakura! That's your name right?"
The pinket smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Can I sit with you?"
Tsukiyo shrugged. "Sure." She scooted over so that Sakura could sit down. "So… you are the Hokage's apprentice? That must be cool."
Sakura nodded. "Yep. I decided that I was sick of always being the weakest person around." She smiled. "So I started studying with Tsunada."
"Who's team were you on before you started training with the Hokage?" Tsukiyo inquired.
A sad expression came over Sakura's face. "My teammates were Naruto and a kid named Uchiha Sasuke."
Tsukiyo caught herself a split second before she spilled her secret. "Uchiha Sasuke?"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. He was Konoha's top rookie." She smiled a small, sad smile. "And he was the heart throb of every girl within a fifty mile radius… me included."
"What happened?" Tsukiyo prodded. She was surprised at how curious she was.
Sakura sighed. "Well, he was always one who liked to be alone, but over a while, he and Naruto became friends," she smiled, "though if you had ever asked them, they would have sworn by their lives that they were mortal enemies." He face clouded. "But then we entered the Chunin exams and had a run in with a Ninja by the name of Orochimaru. He left sasuke with a mark that almost killed him. Sasuke had always been after strength and power, but ever since that day, he was obsessed and even consumed by it." She put her hands to her temples. "He abandoned Konoha and ran off to train with Orochimaru. He hasn't been heard from since."
Tsukiyo nodded. "I see. You really liked him didn't you?"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah… But it would never have worked. He needs a stronger girl and one that can stand up to him. I never could. I loved him, but I think I was kind of afraid of him too." She shrugged. "I'm over my crush on him, now I'm with Kiba kun. But I still wish I knew what had become of him."
Tsukiyo winced. Be glad you don't know Sakura. She thought. Her mind wandered to the raven haired Uchiha back at the hideout. I wonder how he's coping with Itachi…
I can't stand this anymore! Tsukiyo's eyes widened. "Sasuke?" she whispered.
"What?"
Tsukiyo jumped. "Huh? Oh! Nothing Sakura."
Sakura shrugged. "Okay. I was wondering, would you like to come to my place for dinner?"
Tsukiyo smiled. "Sure! Lead the way." She got up and followed the pinket down the street, the two of them chatting merrily all the way. But inside, Tsukiyo couldn't help the nagging anxiety that lingered in the back of her mind.
That was Sasuke. I know it was. She frowned. Something's wrong. I'd better hurry up and get back to headquarters, ASAP!
Me: Aaaaw! Poor Sasuke! I know I'm just torturing him! But as the author it's my privlidge!
Sasuke: I'm going to kill you for this!
Tsukiyo (Rolls eyes) : You can't.
Sasuke: And why not?
Me: Because you are a fictional character and besides. If you try, I'll have Itachi use the electric collar again!
(Itachi enters the room grinning evilly)
Itachi: Hi!
Me & Tsukiyo: Hey Itachi!
Sasuke: I'm going to kill you!
Tsukiyo: You seem to be saying that an aweful lot lately.
Sasuke: Shut up! You're next!
Tsukiyo: Right! Good luck with that one!
Itachi: Please reveiw so I can get back to torturing the killer over there!