Chapter 12 The Younger Sibling
After learning of Ekima's great talent for music, I asked her to teach me to play the violin, a instrument I had always been fond of. She agreed, taking this as a chance to be useful. I had begun to practice with her the next day and had done so basically the whole day. Some where around the late evening Mizuko came bursting in, she had a habit of not knocking.
"Hey, hey!" She said, and I could tell she had run here. "There's some new kid here, about our age."
"Who?" I asked with mild interest.
"I don't know but he's really cute."
Ekima and I looked at her.
She waved her hand at us. "Oh come on, he's so not my type and I've already got someone I'm interested in."
This was news to me.
"Oh?" I said slyly. "And who would that be?"
"You'll probably meet him eventually." Mizuko said.
I shrugged and turned back to continue my lessons.
"Orochimaru's going to introduce his tomorrow, he's kind of beat up right now."
I turned back to Mizuko. "What do you mean?"
"The kid's chest is all bandaged but I didn't get the best look, I was just passing by."
That's strange. Why would he be beat up? Did someone try to stop him from coming here? Why?
"Oh! And Orochimaru says to gather any belongings you might have because were gonna move to another hideout in two days."
"All of us?" Ekima asked.
"The four of us, including Yoshimitsu and some other people are going. The rest stay."
"It's unusual that he would take all of us, I can understand why he'd take Karasu but the rest…" Ekima paused. "…isn't it strange?"
"Who cares? We all get to go!"
I noticed Ekima fidget.
"But Ekima you'll be able to go outside if were traveling," I said.
"I know but…Orochimaru-sama has always left me here and I'm kind of nervous."
"Come on it'll be great." I said, trying to sound comforting but I was nervous as well. What if instinct took over and I tried to flee?
Mizuko planted a hand on Ekima's shoulder, rather harshly. "Hey, we'll all be together, right? Nothing can go wrong then."
Ekima hesitated then nodded. Mizuko seemed satisfied with this and left, slamming the door behind her. I shrugged off the conversation and continued with my lessons, completely oblivious to the fact that this boy would change everything for me.
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I had taken a quick shower and washed away all remaining sleep from last night. Now, I hurried down to Ekima's room, planning on grabbing breakfast on the way. I wanted to get on with my lessons, Ekima had even praised me of being a quick learner. Even now, as I rushed down hallways, I was still tying my obi and adjusting my yukata.
"Karasu-san." A voice called out from behind me.
I turned around to see an approaching Kabuto.
"What?" I said impatiently, wanting for him to be out with so I could go.
"Orochimaru-sama has requested you presence."
That's right! The new kid.
"Can we do this later, I gotta-"
"I believe this concerns you greatly in a sense." Kabuto said gravely.
From the look on his face I could tell he was serious, dead serious.
I sighed and followed him.
"What is so great about this new kid?" I asked.
"You'll know when you meet him."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
I got no response.
"How long is this gonna take? I have my lessons with Ekima-san."
"Probably longer than you expect."
What was with the riddle like answers? It was annoying and not like Kabuto. I gave an impatient sigh and followed Kabuto the rest of the way in silence.
As I expected, we entered the same room where Orochimaru had "gifted" me with the Rai Ring. It was the first time I had seen Orochimaru in a while and was stunned by his change in appearance. His face was almost completely wrapped in bandages, with the exception of his right eye. His hair was short now and of what seemed like a silver color, in this light I couldn't tell all that well. The only explanation was that he had switched bodies, most likely because the pain in his arms had become to unbearable. I noticed the silhouette of a person standing behind his chair.
"It's been a while, Karasu-hime." He said, his voice the same as always.
"Funny since we live under the same roof." I replied.
There was a moment when Orochimaru and I made eye contact but like always, I was the first to drop my gaze. Orochimaru chuckled.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"Something about a new kid? Mizuko mentioned it yesterday."
Orochimaru closed his eyes with another chuckle.
"Would you like to meet the girl very well associated with your brother," Orochimaru said to someone behind him. "Sasuke-kun?"
My head snapped up and I stared at the silhouette as it stepped into the candle light. I stared at a Sasuke, the brother of Itachi and the boy I had scene at the chunnin exams. For the first time I got a good look at him. He was taller than me and he stood almost relaxed. His black bangs framed his almost perfectly oval face, slight baby fat still clung to his cheeks. The candle light made his pupils look pitch black. Sasuke had the look of a boy who had matured beyond his years but the thing that stood out the most was that he painfully resembled Itachi.
"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said. "I'd like you to meet Uchiha Karasu-hime."
Sasuke's whole body tensed and he looked me over.
"Don't fuck around with me, Orochimaru," He said, his voice had a strangely calming sound to it. "There's only Itachi and myself left. I was there."
Orochimaru rested his chin on his hand. "She's not a full Uchiha." He began. "Karasu's mother was and Uchiha and her father was from the Satsugai clan of Sunagakure. That's where she was raised."
Sasuke looked me over again, not as skeptical.
"How do you know Itachi?" He demanded the answer more that asked it.
"I left my village under certain circumstances." I explained. "About a year later I had ended up in the Kirigakure prison for stealing food, sentenced for execution. You're brother just happened to be passing by along with two other Akatsuki members, he was still fairly new then, broke me out and took me with him. I was raised in the Akatsuki, mostly by Itachi. I worked as their spy in return."
"Sounds rather pathetic." Sasuke said.
"And the decision you made now isn't?" I shot back, calmly. "You're probably after revenge, right? Orochimaru offered you power, blah, blah, blah and here you are…might as well get on your knees and beg for it."
Sasuke glared back at me, hard. I simply stared back. I could feel the blood lust radiating off him along with sinister chakra but I remained un-intimidated. This was something I had experienced often. Instead I turned my attention back to Orochimaru.
"Can I go now? I have somewhere to be."
"Well, you can wait a bit longer." He said. "I'd like to see your skill against Sasuke-kun's"
"You can't be serious?!" I said and pointed to Sasuke's bandaged chest, clearly visible through his loosely worn kinagashi. "I'm not gonna fight an injured opponent!"
"He's healed enough to give you a fair fight." Orochimaru said as he began to rise from his seat.
"This is stupid." I muttered.
"You scared?" Sasuke said, as if he couldn't resist a taunt.
"Psh, I could beat your ass any day." I said. "I was personally trained by your own brother after all."
Sasuke's had twitched and I noticed.
Now standing in the dojo, I faced Sasuke. He seemed to observe me more thoroughly now that we were in better lighting.
"Have I seen you before?" He asked after a seconded.
"Well, I sat next to you in the chunnin exams." I stated passively.
"No, I remember that but …before then."
I shook my head. "If we've met before, I have no memory of it."
The sound of approaching footsteps drew close to the dojo.
"Karasu's fighting the new kid!" I heard Mizuko yell.
"Who the hell is he?" Sounded Hiko.
Mizuko opened the door and the three of them plopped down in the genkan to watch. Yoshimitsu entered as well, leaning against the door frame. Other shinobi came to watch as well that I didn't know. Kneeling towards the front I caught the sight of red hair and saw Karin kneeling down, staring intently at Sasuke. I turned my attention back to Sasuke.
"You're pretty cocky," I said. "you didn't attack while I was surveying the audience."
"Only a coward would attack when their opponents' guard is down." He said.
I smiled. "I guess so, but there are two flaws to you're answer. First: save bushido for the samurai, a shinobi wasn't made to fight fair. That kind of thinking will get you killed. And second:…,"
I planted the ball of my foot into the ground and watched the room around me blur. I came to a stop behind Sasuke.
"…my guard was never down." I finished.
Sasuke spun around and blocked an attack that would've hit his stomach. He grabbed my upper arm with both hands and tossed my across the room. I flipped forward just in time to land in a crouch on the wall, using chakra to hold me in place. I placed my finger tips lightly on the surface between my feet before launching my self forward again. I flipped again and brought a foot down towards Sasuke's head, he blocked once again with both his arms. I dropped to the ground and kicked his feet out from under him. He caught himself. Sasuke rushed forward and I backed off, now on defense. He punched and kicked but failed to land any blows. I threw a fist at his face but he dropped, to my luck. The split second when he was defenseless I planted a foot in his face. I fell backwards and slid across the floor, nearly to the opposite wall.
"Is that all you've got?!" I taunted.
I wasn't the kind to bully an opponent to be an ass. Sasuke was holding back and I hated when opponents did that, it meant they underestimated me. I walked towards him. He had begun to sit up, wiping blood from his mouth.
"You expect to beat your brother with a skill level like that!?" I yelled at him. For the first time I realized, his methods, his cocky attitude, what he had done to get revenge, made me sick! "Your not even in range of Itachi-san level! If you want revenge so bad, then get power your own way, don't jump at the chance just because someone waves it in your face!!"
Sasuke glared at me through his sharingan, pure hatred swam in those eyes. Suddenly, I realized what had just come out of my mouth and I stepped back a bit. Sasuke stood up, staggering a little.
"Don't talk to me," He said, his voice dark. "as if you know me!"
He charged. We both raised fists but as I ran at him, something strange happened, something that had happened once before. Sasuke, and everything around me suddenly slowed, except myself. All sound had nearly faded away. My knuckles planted themselves firmly in Sasuke's cheek. The moment my skin touched his the movement around me returned to normal. Sasuke flew back across the room, slamming into the wall, bits of wood cracked around him. I stared down at my hand, panting. I felt as though most of my energy had been drained.
"Yeah, Karasu!" Mizuko screamed.
As I looked over at the audience, along with Orochimaru and Kabuto, I realized no one else had noticed the strange phenomenon. This was something that had only happened once before; when I had defeated Itachi for the first time.
Author Notes: Alright, before you start bombarding me with "Karasu could never beat Sasuke" and "Mary Sue" crap, just wait. Seriously, I'm going somewhere with this. Just wait, please. I beg you! (*cough* Fulcon *cough*) I want no complaining until later!!!…you'll understand when the time comes.
Anyways, well Sasuke is finally in that fanfic. Only took 12 chapters. Stuffs gonna move along much quicker now. Next chapter probably won't be very long, though. Just a heads up.