Chapter 25 The Waterfall Castle

The four peeked over the small hedge of bushes down and the castle from the ridge above. It was large and fancy like any typical Japanese casltle, the walls painted an eggshell white and the roof covered with brown tiles. The structure was built above the three rivers that lead to the triple waterfall, two rivers on the outside and the middle one under the castles center. In order to get to the castle's main gate one had to cross the left river via a let down bridge. If any intruder managed to get past the first defense, there was a tall, thick white wall that surrounded the estate.

Entering through the main entrance was out of the question for the four, it was completely surrounded by guards, not to mention the speed at which the water in the lake was traveling. Luckily for them, the ridge where they had nestled, surrounded the castle in a "U" shape, giving them access to the castle without crossing either of the rivers. But then there was wall, which was also riddled with guards.

Sasuke clicked his tongue sharply. The castle was well hidden, unable to be seen from the ground below the waterfall. You couldn't climb the waterfall, the water moved too rapidly, and you couldn't climb the surrounding crags, it had been polished and smoothed to the point that only an expert at chakra manipulation. So if one were to find the castle you'd have to travel through the surrounding terrain. It was a place that could only be found by someone who was looking for it. Even so, Sasuke still felt stupid that it had taken them three days to find a place that was just above where they had started.

"Taking the front gate is out of the question." Yoshimitsu stated.

Hiko nodded. "We could try the wall."

"But that's covered with guards too!" Mizuko said.

"No."

The other three turned to Sasuke, as if just remembering that he was there.

"I saw a place that was bare."

Mizuko looked at Hiko, who looked at Yoshimitsu, who looked to Sasuke and nodded.

"Let's check it out." Mizuko agreed.

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The four approached the wall with little, if no, caution. Mizuko scanned the area.

"You were right, Sasuke." She said with a satisfied sigh. "Not a soul in sight."

"Yeah, well I don't want to hang around and see how long that lasts." Hiko stated as she approached the wall and, using chakra, began to climb.

Mizuko soon followed.

Yoshimitsu and Sasuke began to approach the wall but Yoshimitsu stopped.

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

Sasuke turned to him to show he was listening.

"Yeah?"

Yoshimitsu was silent and just stared at the Uchiha.

"No, never mind."

He turned away and followed after the other two, Sasuke did the same.

Mizuko was the first to reach the top and began to make her descend but the moment she placed her hand on the opposite side of the wall, her chakra was rejected and she fell to the ground below.

"Ouch! Son of a-"

"What happened?" Hiko called down, straddling the wall top.

"I dunno!" Mizuko yelled back. "This side of the wall rejects chakra, or somethin'!"

Hiko put a hand cautiously and, indeed, it rejected her chakra.

"Huh. Hey guys!" She called down the other side. "This side of the wall rejects chakra, be careful."

With that she jumped to the ground, landing gracefully next to Mizuko. Hiko smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up." Mizuko mumbled.

Sasuke and Yoshimitsu dropped to the ground behind Hiko and quickly scanned the area. They were in a garden that was obviously artistically designed. At the far side was an engawa, lined with sliding doors. Surprisingly, there was not a person in sight.

"Are we just getting lucky?" Mizuko said.

Just then on of the doors slid open and a astonished but beautiful face, shaped with wavy black hair, stared out of them. The women edged out onto the veranda.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed in a low voice.

Yoshimitsu, followed by the others, approached the women.

"We are looking for our friends. A tall strawberry blond with blue eyes and-"

"-and a short blond girl with golden eyes!" Mizuko cut in. "Have you seen them?"

The women looked at each of their faces, coming to stop on Sasuke's.

"Are you here to save them?"

They nodded.

The women looked down.

"It's so stupid." She mumbled. "Suisen-san is lucky."

"Suisen?"

"Your friend's new name."

There was a pause.

"Um…"

"Budou."

"Budou-san," Mizuko corrected herself. "why is she lucky."

"Most of us were kidnapped, though some came willingly." Budou turned her face down. "I've been here the longest, but no one came for me."

Everyone was silent. Budou wiped away the tears that had begun to stream down her face.

"Forgive me, that must have sounded selfish."

"Perhaps we could get you out too?" Mizuko offered.

Budou shook her head.

"No, life here isn't so bad." She said with a forced smile. "I am treated well and given what I please."

Budou's face hardened and she pointed to the left.

"Suisen-san is in Shinsuke-sama's personal quarters on the top floor, I don't know about Utatori-san."

"Why is she there?" Hiko asked.

Budou looked up but said nothing. She was the only one to see Sasuke's face alter it's expression ever so slightly.

"Thank you." Mizuko said as she began to run past the women. "We'll continue on now."

The other's followed but Budou stopped Sasuke.

"You're the one she always talking about, right?" She turned her face up. " Shinsuke-sama is skilled and you're wounded, it's best not to get-"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sasuke cut in.

" I saw that face," Budou continued. " but she speaks of you the way a child speaks of a friend."

"Then continue to think of me as that child's friend."

Sasuke turned away and followed after the others. Budou smiled.

"Is that so?" She looked up to the now dark sky. "I wouldn't mind going outside, though."

After running down several hallways, some elaborately decorated, other plain, the four reached a large room. They scanned the area. It seemed to be the throne room, where the lord would receive guests and address his subjects. Flowered plants in artistic pots lined the walls on both sides. On the sides of the raised platform where the lord sat were shoheiga screens painted with mountain patterns. The wooden floor was completely polished and was without a scratch. About twenty feet up was a veranda like platform that surrounded the room, most likely a place where guards would stand watch.

"Where is everyone?" Hiko mumbled.

"Is every guard posted outside?" Mizuko said. "If so, that's pretty stupid."

"Well, well." A voice said. "Fancy meeting you here."

The four looked up. A black haired women in an obscene purple outfit was starring down at them. Sasuke glared up at her.

"Oh, goody! Seems your wound has healed, boy." Sara said with a smirk and clapped her hands together. "Means I get to play with you some more!"

Two other figures appeared at her side, a short girl and a boy with hair the color of unhealthy wheat.

"You!" Mizuko snarled.

"Oh? You're that cocky bitch." Osen said.

"You're the cocky bitch, dumbass!!!"

"Where's the tall one?" Ryujiro said, scanning the crowd.

"Ryujiro baka!" Osen scolded. "She's been here for the past three days!"

"What!? I gotta pay her back for my broken fingers!"

Ryujiro dropped to the ground.

"I have an ass-kicking appointment!" He called up to his comrades. "See ya!"

Ryujiro took off down one of the hallways.

"Geez," Sara complained. "He didn't even ask if we could hold our own, the bastard."

Yoshimitsu made a move to follow after him but then he turned back to the others. Hiko nodded.

"We're good here, you go on." She said.

Yoshimitsu nodded and ran down the hallway after Ryujiro. Osen and Sara dropped to the ground in front of the remaining three. Sasuke shifted into a defensive position.

"Sasuke, you should go too." Hiko said.

"But…"

"We can handle this just fine. You have to go through that entrance behind them, though." Hiko turned a serious face towards her opponents. "We'll cover you."

Sasuke nodded and dashed forward.

"Bring it!" Osen yelled.

But Sasuke feigned a frontal attack and launched himself above them.

"What?" Sara cried.

He landed on the other side of them in a graceful crouch. Osen and Sara turned to attack but Hiko and Mizuko ran at them from behind, forcing them to turn back and block. Sasuke stood and glanced back.

"Go kick some ass!!" Mizuko yelled, trying to keep Sara down.

Sasuke turned and ran into the hallway that lay before him.

"Wait!" Sara called after him. "Dammit, I really wanted to play with him some more."

"So, you really are as sluty as you look." Mizuko teased.

"Hmph! Guess I could make do with you."

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Sasuke didn't know where he was going or what he was looking for. The lord's room probably looked much different from the normal resident's quarters. But, Sasuke had never been in a castle, nor did he know much about royalty. His wound throbbed and he cried out. Leaning on the wall, Sasuke realized he needed to access the situation calmly. Where was he? Where was she? Sasuke took a deep breath and continued on.

What he had told Mizuko was not a complete lie. Deep down, he did care about Karasu. She had been under him for almost half a year, not to mention she was an Uchiha like himself. Sasuke refused to be like Orochimaru, who played god with people's lives. All five of them were put in his care. Knowing Orochimaru, this was probably a test to see how Sasuke handled being a leader and how he valued the lives of those around him. Could he kill his emotion enough to take care of the task at hand? It was true Sasuke had come to Orochimaru for power but that didn't mean he had to do things the way the snake wanted him to. Sasuke would not be manipulated. He wouldn't get power Itachi's way, nor Orochimaru's. He would get stronger himself.

Then why did he abandon Konoha, his…friends? Because spending time with them distracted him from his greatest desire. But then, cutting off his ties was doing what Orochimaru wanted him to, right? Was he just a pawn as well? Just another piece of the puzzle? The puzzle of life?

Sasuke shook his head as he slowed to a stop. He was thinking to much. He need to focus on the here and now. Sasuke looked around. The hallway continued on but it branched off to the right a little way up. He pressed himself to the wall and peeked down the second hallway. No one but the hallway lead to a single door that was cracked open slightly. Sasuke approached it cautiously and listened. Not a sound. He was about to turn away when…

"Why am I being brought along? What are you planning to do?!"

Karasu's voice! Sasuke wrenched the door open and ran out into a large, training ground like room. Three figures stood before him. One was a twenty-one year old with dirty blonde hair and honey colored eyes. He wore a black hooded trench coat that reached his knees. The seconded was taller and appeared a bit older. His long black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. Like his companion, he wore a knee-length trench coat but in his hand he carried a naginata. Sasuke wasn't concerned with the weapon, though, in the man's left arm was Karasu.

She was dressed in a expensive looking kimono, decorated with wavy and curling lines of pale silver and gold. Her hair was done up in a lax fashion, though it looked like some strands had been pulled free, escaping their restraints. Normally, Sasuke would have made a sarcastic remark about how out of character the outfit was but other things caught his attention. Like the way the top half of the kimono was loose, one side slipping down, exposing Karasu's shoulder along with the curse mark. She held this side up enough to cover herself. The next thing Sasuke noticed were the almost unnoticeable red marks that were scattered around her neck and the area below. Lastly was Karasu's face. It was embarrassed, even ashamed. But the moment she saw him, it lit up ever so slightly.

"Sasuke-sama?"

"Oh?" The man who had her by the arm said. "Orochimaru's future body, eh?"

Author's notes: See told you nothing mature would happen! Nah, that's in the next chapter, LOL!!! Anyways, lots happened here. And in the next chap, well get to see what happened to Karasu and after that some more battle scenes! Yay!!