I do not own Naruto! Or any of the music in this fanfic! I will do my best to cite my music sources in the end of the chapters in the A/N! I do, however, own the OC's.
I awoke to white sterile walls I knew too well. I hated hospitals. Hated them with my every fiber. Everything hurt like heck, and I looked around. I missed Orochimaru already, but if someone had asked I'd say that I missed my family.
"Yes! You're awake!" Naruto said gleefully, and tackled me. I felt like I was going to die.
"Naruto, knock it off! She's still recovering from surgery!" Sakura scolded, and I looked over at her in confusion. "I'm Haruno, Sakura, teammate of this idiot. Lady Hokage had to go in and take something out of your head and heal something else. Something about hydrocephalus and citrobactor scar tissue…"
I grinned. My life's dreams were to be married to Orochimaru and rid of that blasted shunt, and I'd finally gotten them! Life was perfect now. I could die peacefully without a hitch – well, except Orochimaru pining after me of course.
"What happened?" Choji asked worriedly as he walked in with the others. "You got kidnapped by an otonin, we know that much."
"I – I don't know… one minute I was showering in the river, and then everything went black. The next thing I know, I feel like I'm about to die inside a dungeon of some sort, and everything hurts like hell. They put some sort of medicine into an IV they had in me, and then I woke up here," I said furrowing my brow in confusion.
"Well, the mission was a bust – we got rid of that drug dealer's henchmen, at least," Lee said as he moved to get closer to Sakura.
"Alright, you, everybody out," Tsunade said as she walked in. "I need to check up on my patient. Out." The others filed out, and Tsunade looked at me sadly. "You're the first one he's raped…why do you think that is?"
"Wh-what? Who?" I asked, clutching my gut in pain. "That explains the pain…ow…"
"Orochimaru," she said sternly, and I froze. Crap – I'd forgotten that they kept DNA references on all their ninja, even the ones who went rogue. "Nobody blames you if you want to take a few days off. I won't blame you if you get pregnant and want to destroy the child, either."
"No…I can't do that. It wouldn't be the baby's fault. I can't punish an unborn child for something its father did," I sobbed. I was a good actress – but I missed Orochimaru dearly, now more than ever. "I – I'm sorry… I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough…"
"It's not your fault, kid," Jiraiya said as he walked in. "Orochimaru's done much worse to others. Be happy you got off this lucky. Besides that, if you wanted me to take the kid off your hand if you got pregnant because of it, then I'd be happy to. It's only fair since he's my teammate and you're my apprentice."
"Thanks," I murmured quietly. "But no thanks. If I do get pregnant, I'll need to keep the child. If what I've heard about him from Naruto is true, then Orochimaru's a wild card – we never know what he'll do. I don't want to die because I didn't keep his child."
"Be careful," Tsunade said sternly before leaving me alone with Jiraiya.
"You could have told me you'd gotten lost. I covered for you when Tsunade asked whether or not I'd sent you back, but next time you lie to her, I'll reveal that I didn't send you," Jiraiya warned quietly. Crap – I'd have to be more careful now.
"S-sorry…I was scared…I didn't have any training and the ANBU wouldn't let me in… they were about to kill me…" I defended quietly.
"I can appreciate that," Jiraiya nodded. "Alright. I'll let it slide, then. But don't let it happen again."
"I won't," I promised. "I'm going to have bodyguards, aren't i?"
"Yes, you are. We've assigned two ANBU to make sure you don't get out of line. Ah, here they come now," Jiraiya said as the two walked in. Oh, this was bad. I recognized these two from a video game on the Wii – Komachi and Yugao. "Relax, they're both kunoichi. Sarah, this is Yugao with the purple hair and Komachi with the brown."
"Nice to meet you," I said politely, feeling more like a prisoner than anything else. They stayed silent, and the sense of foreboding was only made worse.
"O…kay, then," Jiraiya said looking between the three of us. "I'll leave you three alone, then."
I felt like a dunce, so I decided to curl up in a ball and go back to sleep. Yet, even in my sleep, my former life haunted me. I watched my parents screaming at the school teachers to drop me from their classes and give me an honorary diploma, but that didn't work. Figures.
Battershell was lecturing, as always, and the other teachers were still crestfallen at my death somewhat. My friends – what few I'd made in half a semester of college– were still wearing pure black. Carl more so than the others, and he would randomly start crying for no reason. I pitied him – he was one of the few males I felt comfortable around one-on-one when it came outside of the family. I raced over to the Fayetteville Public Library, and Shay and Kena were on duty today. Sweetness!
I padded over to Shay's desk and began typing.
Hallo! I'm alive and well. In the Naruto world. Trying to come back, but am married now. Having fun and am rid of the ventricular shunt now safely. I'm safe and sound. Miss you all lots. Sarah/Renate
"Kena," Shay said startled, and Kena walked over and gasped at my message.
"Renate? You're married now? To who?"
Who do you think? The king of snakes of course! I replied before leaving.
Bored, I headed over to see what my other brother was doing on his mission in Vegas. He was on the phone with mom, and she had just broken the news to him about my supposed death. I watched him break down and cry, something I'd never seen him do before.
"Hey, Elder D, what's wrong?" his companion asked as Joseph put down the phone.
"She's dead…my sister's dead…" he sobbed, and his companion flinched in sympathy. I leapt over to the computer nearby and began typing a message to Joe.
Joe, I'm alive and well. In the Naruto world. Trying to come back, but am married now. Having fun and am rid of the ventricular shunt now safely. I'm safe and sound – don't worry, Tsunade did the operation. Learning Jutsus quickly and have mastered the Rasengan in a week and a half. I Miss you lots, Aniki. Sarah/Renate
"Elder, look," his companion said as he saw me typing. Joe read the message, then reread it.
"Sarah? Impossible…How?" he sobbed. I'm asleep right now and can communicate with typing stuff out on computers. I married the Snake King, FYI. Don't tell mom – she'll try to kill me for real. I'm not coming back until my nineteenth birthday since they can't do anything about it.
"Whoa, you're a real nutjob, kid," Joe's companion said shocked. Coming from the person who goes crazy at the mentioning of the word chocolate? Or Reese's. Or Hershey's?
"Sis, wait," Joe said sadly, and I flinched. "Should I tell mom and dad at Christmas?" No. it's best to leave them in the dark until I find a way to visit them in person with my new husband. Konoha's not all that bad – I've gotten quite a few perks from it, but I'll need to move on to Sunagakure soon for newer Jutsu.
"Jutsu?" his companion asked. Attacks in this world. I'm researching as many as I can for my husband. He wants to know as many as he can before he dies.
"Orochimaru," Joe realized. Ding ding! We have a winner! Yes, that's who I married. Konoha doesn't know, though. I've been out on missions and running into him or his spies every so often to pass along the info that I've been sealing into scrolls and making them react to my and Orochimaru's chakra alone.
"Chakra?" the ninja's life source here. I'd better go before Komachi and Yugao get suspicious. Love you, bro!
I left the heat of the desert and headed up to Oregon to see how my grandmother and cousins were taking it. Mimi was distraught, and my cousins were all crying, Marissa more than the others. Apparently she'd looked up to me.
"We didn't even get to meet her," Marissa sobbed. I immediately wanted to type something, but I couldn't find a laptop. I did, however, find an electric piano. Even better. I began playing Orochimaru's theme out of nowhere, and they turned it off confused. I turned it back on and began playing again, this time Bella's Lullaby from Twilight. They turned it off, and I back on once more. I began playing a different song that my grandmother, Mimi, recognized.
"Sarah?" she asked, and I continued playing. I started playing in morse code, and Uncle alex walked in.
"Dad, come here. You've got to see this. You know Morse Code, right?" Marrissa asked, and he nodded. "Can you translate?" I began pressing the keys to translate, and stopped after each choppy sentence.
"Alive and well. Married. in the … N-A-R-U-T-O world. Shunt out. Recovering quickly. Can't come back. Will keep trying. Love, Sarah," he translated, and I sighed in relief. "P.S. Don't tell mom & dad. They'll kill me."
"Oh my gosh, we love you," Mimi sobbed, and I started playing the song that was going at my funeral. I quit playing and headed out to find someone else to talk to.
"How long has she been asleep?" I heard Kakashi ask Komachi and decided to eavesdrop.
"We're not sure. She fell asleep after Jiraiya-sama left, but she's been muttering in her sleep. Something about Chakra and pianos…" Yugao replied. Oh, shiz, had I talked out loud? CRAP!
"Oh my Kami… she was raped?" Kurenai asked shocked.
"Orochimaru," Komachi replied in confirmation.
"It's too early to tell if she's pregnant or not. We just have to wait and see," Asuma replied gently. "But as for what to do with her… for all we know, it was an act and she had sex with him to make it look like she was attacked."
"Asuma's right. She might be a spy," Guy said sternly. "We all remember what happened with Kabuto."
"That's why Lady Hokage has ordered us to keep an eye on her," Komachi said sternly.
"Hurts…no…stop…please…" I moaned quietly, curling into a ball tighter to prove him wrong. "Please…stop…kill me…please…"
"Sarah, wake up," Komachi said shaking my shoulder. I jerked awake with a loud gasp, and began whimpering in false pain. "You shouldn't be hurting – Lady Hokage gave you medicine to stop that…"
"Post Traumatic Stress," Kakashi nodded. "She's probably feeling the pains of being raped again in her nightmares." I curled up in a tighter ball on the bed.
The rest of the month flew by quickly. I'd gathered about a hundred or so more jutsu, and was ready to go home. I was tired of living a lie in Konoha. I was ready to move on to Sunagakure. I'd have to let Tsunade know first, though.
"Enter," she said as she began filling out more paperwork. "Sarah? Is something wrong?"
"I need to go to Sunagakure. I can't stand another minute in Konoha," I said quickly. "Not after…"
"That mission to Snake Mountain?" she asked gently, and I nodded.
"I don't want people to look at me like I'm a wimp who serves Orochimaru. That's all I've been hearing from the Jonin anymore. They think that Orochimaru will attack Konoha to get to me…and to be honest, I believe them. He's a wild card, I don't want to put Konoha in any more danger," I pled, and Tsunade nodded.
"I understand. I'll send a message ahead to Sunagakure. Actually, three of their ninja are here again. I'll send you back with them. Komachi, go get the Sand Trio," Tsunade ordered, and the ANBU left. "You seem positive about this decision. Can I trust you not to reveal any Konoha secrets?"
"My lips are sealed," I promised. "But isn't Sunagakure Konoha's allies?"
"I still don't want our secrets getting out," Tsunade said firmly.
"You have my word," I said equally as firm, crossing my fingers in my pockets. It wasn't my word if my fingers were crossed. I could do as I pleased.
"Can we help?" Temari asked as she and Kankurou walked in. they looked the same as they did in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Yikes.
"Sarah here is a nomadic ninja – she helps whatever village she pleases and doesn't spill any secrets. Could you be her escort to Sunagakure?" Tsunade asked, and Gaara nodded. "Well, it's settled. Sarah, go pack what things you want. We'll keep a spot open in the upcoming Chunin exams if that is what you please."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I am forever in your debt," I said with a low bow. I raced back to grab what few things I'd wanted, and headed to the village gates.
"I'm Temari," she introduced. "These are my brothers Kankurou and Gaara."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sarah," I grinned. Naruto came racing up behind me. "Whats up, Naruto-san?"
"Do you really have to go?" he asked sadly.
"Yes – I don't want rogue ninjas attacking Konoha to get to me. That's why I'm a nomad – Rogues keep attacking me whenever I get too attached to one place. Don't worry – I'll write as often as I can, I promise!"
"Here – take it," Naruto said, holding out a scroll. "Ero-Sennin gave it to me, but you'll need it more than me."
"Thanks, Naruto-san," I said hugging him. Sakura ran up behind him. "Bye, Sakura-san. Tell the others I said good-bye. Who knows, I might see you guys in the next Chunin exams."
"Yeah," Naruto said sadly. "Hey, Kiba said that Orochimaru attacked you on your last mission. Are you okay?"
"fine – shaken up, but fine. I need a change of scenery, that's all. I need to get out of Konoha so people quit glaring at me like I'm some sort of monster," I told him, and he nodded.
"If you ever need us again, just tell us and we'll come running," Temari teased Shikamaru, who had showed up to see her off.
"Thanks again," he said smiling. "Take care, Sarah-san."
"You, too, Shikamaru-san," I said before turning my back on Konoha. I shuddered, knowing that my cover had almost been blown there by Orochimaru and my marriage and honeymoon. That was too close – way too close. I'd have to be more careful in Suna.