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 grinned in delight as I watched the sadist begin his rounds that cold, February night, having transferred myself back to Earth. I could already see the profiles of those he was going to kill – the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga, Kushina Uzumaki, and Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha. Like I cared about them – all I knew was that I needed to put a stop to this, once and for all.
I could see his Sound headband on his forehead, and his bleach-blonde hair, almost silver, tied back like Kabuto's. His clothes matched Kabuto's as well, and he even wore glasses. I was beginning to think that they were right – our serial killer really thought he was Kabuto. I grinned, knowing he'd been getting cocky with the cops. I sighed exhaustedly, my body still sore from the day's training. I'd been sent out on this A ranking assignment as a favor to Tsunade and Jiraiya for the time I spent with them while I waited for the Sannin showdown. Apparently Tsunade had gotten word from Sunagakure that one of their ninjas had gone missing while trailing Kabuto, and she sent me in to investigate.
Thus, here I was, tracking the tracker. I watched as he fiddled with security cameras, then, when all was thought to be lost, I raced over to put them back into place. I watched in horror as the man killed the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, then the two Hyuugas. Uzumaki and Uchiha were off limits. I used a henge jutsu to transform into Orochimaru, and the ninja became alert immediately.
"Who's there?" he said loudly. "I know you're out there! Show yourself!"
"Feeling agitated, Kabuto?" I asked teasingly, then suddenly became furious. "Don't patronize me!" What can I say? It was one of the things that my husband was famous for.
"Orochimaru-sama!" he said shocked as he got down on one knee. "How may I help, sir? Shall I kill the Uchihas? The Uzumaki? Who, my lord?"
"Nobody else for tonight," I said simply. "However, there's a woman that I've been meaning to settle a score with. Her name is Jennifer, and her daughter is the one that's missing, and now dead. Find and eliminate her silently."
"Yes, my lord. What shall I do with Uzumaki and Uchihas?" he asked, and I glanced over at them.
"I shall dispose of them," I told him, and the trio began screaming and struggling immediately. "Go – I want the deed done before forty-eight hours is over."
"Yes, my lord," he said before racing away. I waited until he was safely gone for five minutes, with no chakra signature in sight before turning to the now-frenzied trio.
"I'll need you three to turn yourselves into protective custody. Give a detailed description of the man you just saw, as best you can. Give them this message," I instructed, handing them a note to give to the cops. I quickly took a knife to their ropes, and led them away to a CSI station. "Stay here until they let you out of protective custody."
"Thank you so much," the two women sobbed, and I pushed the trio inside. the CSI's were instantly alert, and one even raced off after me. He didn't get very far since I'd vanished onto the rooftops by leaping between light poles and the buildings.
"What the hell?" I heard the cop yell. "Get out here! You're under arrest for resisting arrest and leaving the scene of a crime! Get out here, you damn hermaphrodite!"
"Call my master a hermaphrodite, will you?" I heard the Kabuto imposter ask, and the cop cringed. I knew it was now or never, so I sent a kunai down to the man's hip, and leapt atop it. I covered the cop's mouth with my hand, clamping the other on his throat.
"Kabuto," I growled, and he nodded before flinching.
"Orochimaru-sama," he began, and I leered at him. "With all due, respect, sir…"
"Get. Out. Of. My. Sight," I growled menacingly, my chakra radiating bloodlust, and the Kabuto imposter bowed lowly before leaving. I carried the cop to the station, and carried him inside.
"What the hell?" he yelled in shock as I began racing him down to the morgue.
"Relax, they'll stitch you up," I said simply. "I can't stay – I'm not Orochimaru," I explained to him. "I need all of you to listen carefully."
The other CSI's crowded over with the exception of three that were getting a testimony from the trio I'd rescued earlier. The mortician began stitching the cop's skin shut.
"Knife wound on our friend here matches the knife wounds found on some of our victims," he reported, and I nodded.
"Standard issue for a ninja," I reasoned. "Look, I know you guys don't trust me since I can boss him around, but I need you guys to listen. I'm not who the Kabuto imposter thinks I am. He thinks I'm his master, Orochimaru, but I'm not."
"Prove it," one of the females said quietly, yet gently. I smiled, and dropped the henge.
"My real name is Sarah Denning," I told them. "My mother tried to kill me, so I ran away. She tried to kill me again yesterday, and I used my powers to transform into someone else and get away. You're going to think I'm crazy for this, but our Kabuto imposter has the same powers as me. I use mine to protect people – as you saw earlier with our trio that I practically drug here and your friend. The Kabuto imposter uses it to kill people he deems as his master's enemies."
"The bodies are piling up – do you have a name?" one of the males, an older one with a slight beard, asked. I sighed and almost shook my head, reading that his jacket said 'Gravem'.
"His real name is Yamamoto Kiragi of the Sand," I told them. "However, the thinks he's Yakushi Kabuto of the Sound. Big problem for us Otonin."
"So, where is he going now?" one of the cops said.
"I ordered him to find my mother," I told them simply. "She's probably on trial, so he probably won't attack unless he gets desperate, which he'll get caught for."
"The kid's smart," one of the others said. "She really knows what she's doing."
"Thanks," I grinned. "I've done my time in Psychology class and watched quite a few CSI shows. I can almost wrap a confession around my finger with them if I wanted to."
"Where do you think you're going?" one of the females, a blonde, asked as I stood up to leave.
"Why, Otogakure of course!" I smiled, and raced out the door and the building. As soon as the alarm was raised, the other cops were on high alert. I fled, using my invisibility jutsu, and headed out into the night.
By dawn, I was tired, and noticed that the Kabuto imposter was following me closely. I fell asleep, then woke up at about noon in the desert. I frowned, not knowing what was going on. Then I felt it – a searing pain in my legs, and shade above me.
I was being crushed under a car.
"Kabuto! Kabuto-san, stop!" I cried out. "I'm an otonin, like you!" I yelled out, showing him my headband.
"You tricked me," he growled angrily before the car completely covered me. "You thought you could pass as Orochimaru-sama and get away with it? You'll die for your insolence!"
"Stop! Don't do this!" I begged, then raced to weave hand signs. He clamped my hands apart suddenly.
"I knew it. You're a little lying bitch, the Denning's daughter who's supposed to be dead. Heh, I'll get more of Orochimaru-sama's favor by killing a bounty like you!" he growled as he snapped and broke my left wrist and right arm. I winced, not showing the least bit of pain behind my eyes. "Not a little whiner, huh? Well, we'll see how you like being eaten alive by wolves!"
"Get back here! Get back you and fight me like a man you yellow-bellied coward murderer!" I screamed at him, and winced in pain at my arms. I forced myself to sleep, knowing it would keep me alive longer if I slept during the day and was active at night.
With much effort, and a lot of pain and chakra, I forced my way into the fetal position inside the car, stopping to get out only when the car began flooding during the torrential downpour. I frowned in exhaustion as I was forced to stay moving during the day, using the stars and sun to find my location. I ran down the canyon and through the sands, avoiding the highway, and digging through wet sand for water, or slicing a cactus when I was thirsty.
Finally, after two days, I was exhausted more than ever before, even more than after I'd given birth to Akuma. I continued on my way, desperate for something to help me, holding a mirror in my hand so that someone could see me from the road if needs be. I collapsed, and began hallucinating that Gaara's sand was closing in around me. Kabuto didn't kill me so Gaara wanted payback for me lying to him, huh? Well, I was dying anyways. I sighed and let the sands swallow me whole, not even caring that it got inside my nostrils for a few seconds.
"Sarah," I heard Gaara say, and I sighed out my nose, opening my eyes to what I thought would be the sky.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
I was now underneath a pillar, one next to the Kazekage's office, and Shikamaru Nara was there too. I stared in shock, blew my nose, shook my glasses to clean them, and put them back on to verify where I was. Sunagakure, the village hiding in the Sand.
"You were calling out to me," Gaara said simply, and I stared at him. "You were dying in a desert – I was using my sand to track you, but it would only work if you were dying in the desert. Do you remember?"
"The pact," I realized. "The one that I'd practiced the jutsu for the first time ever yet it worked. But, how?"
"Sympathy link," he said simply, and I smiled before going into a coughing fit.
"Go – back," I coughed. "Killer…at…large…must…catch…Suna…rogue…"
"Suna rogue?" Gaara asked, his eyes wide, and I nodded. "It's settled. The elders ordered me to find the rogue that was tracking Kabuto, thinking he went to Orochimaru, but you're telling me he's in your hometown?"
I nodded, and he used his sand to transport the two of us back to Earth where I'd been before. I was still dying, and I needed to get out of the heat, fast. Gaara set up a sand umbrella and began walking towards the road. I heard helicopters in the distance, and knew what that meant: help was on the way. I let my legs give out, and Gaara stared at me in shock.
"Go," I croaked. "They'll try to kill you if you stay. Meet up with me once I reopen the sympathy link in the desert."
"Be careful," he said before leaving.
I watched the Helicopter fly overhead, then used a signal to get their attention: I shone my mirror in its direction. I watched as the helicopter circled around and came back over me once, twice, three times more. I let my mirror fall on my stomach as I let the darkness cave in around me.
"Sarah," I heard one of the cops say, and I opened my eyes hesitantly. I was in a hospital, and was surrounded by cops. Great.
"You gave us quite a scare," the blonde said gently. I recognized her from the morgue, as well as the brunette who had said my name to get me to wake up.
"How? When?" I croaked, and heard the beeping of the pulse checker quicken.
"You'd been out there for three days with almost no food and very little water," the brunette said. "That happened to me once, but I was in a worse condition than you when I got out. How'd you do it?"
"Cut open cactuses," I replied, and they gave a look that said 'yeah, that would work, I guess.'
"Thirsty?" the blonde asked as I began coughing and looking around desperately for water. "Here," she said handing me some water. "They've got an IV into you, but bottled water can't hurt."
"Whoa, slow town there, tigress!" the brunette said. Satyr, it read on her CSI jacket. Maple was what the blonde read.
"More," I said, my voice just barely cracking. "What's the damage?"
"Left wrist broken, right arm broken, both legs badly bruised, and…um…" Satyr cut off. I stared at her calmly until she finally continued. "A miscarriage."
"No," I sobbed, desperate for reassurance that my newest child wasn't destroyed. "No, please tell me it's a lie. No, I can't lose it. No, no, NO!"I screamed, desperate for relief. A nurse came in and went to inject something into my IV, but I stopped her by smacking her hand and sending the syringe flying, a kunai after it to destroy it.
"Ma'am, please calm down!" she said, and I glared at her as cruelly as I could, and sent out a genjutsu that rivaled that of the one Orochimaru sent out on Sasuke and Sakura in the forest of death.
Everyone else in the room lost their previous meals to the floor. I didn't care anymore – I wanted Orochimaru, I wanted him next to me. I screamed and screamed for him, writhing and fighting to no end until five cops and a nurse finally got a syringe of medicine into me.
Even in my sleep I screamed in defiance and sorrow. I screamed as people flashed before me – Naruto, teasing and taunting me saying that he'd kill me if I bore Orochimaru's child. Ino and Sakura kept saying that I was too much of a bitch to be a mother. Sasuke mocked me with his Sharingan, and Kakashi kept staring at me and shrugging it off. The other Eight Newbies were also teasing me – some were saying I was too weak, others were saying that I was too emotional, too hardworking, or too clinically insane. The jonin joined in, saying that any child of mine would be a bastard because I was an otonin, and had betrayed the leaf Village, when Tsunade had told them I'd been given as Tribute!
My subconscious must have gone out and called for help, because finally, all the teasing stopped as one person pulled me into a loving embrace.
Orochimaru.
"I'm so sorry – I'm so, so sorry," I kept repeating to him, crying my eyes out. He stood there and let me cry, never once saying a word. "I failed you – I failed our children." I didn't even realize I'd made it plural until he flinched.
Orochimaru knew this wasn't his normal dreams. One minute, he was dreaming about Akuma on his knees after he'd conquered Kumogakure, and being seated on a throne. The next, Sarah was screaming her head off as shadows of her former comrades were saying something to her. He raced over to her, dispelling the shadows, and embraced her lovingly as only a husband could.
"I'm so sorry – I'm so, so sorry," she kept sobbing. What the hell was she crying about now? Honestly, he'd had to marry a hormonal crybaby. Knowing that letting her cry was the best route to take, he decided to let her in peace.
He gently shifted her mouth out of his shirt so she could breathe better, and let her continue crying. "I failed you – I failed our children," she'd said. Wait – children? Plural? He flinched as a familiar ominous premonition filled his gut.
"Shh, it's alright pet. Just tell me what went wrong," he began soothing as he sat her down on a tree stump in a forest. Okay, forest? Why not city landscape, or hideout?
"Everything!" she screamed, and he flinched once more as her words cut deeper than the deepest knives.
"Everything!" I screamed in despair. I saw him flinch, but I didn't care anymore. "First I get sent back to my world, then I get found out because some stupid cop tried following me when I rescued someone, the serial killer followed him, then the killer puts me under a car and hurts me, then I'm stuck in the desert for three days with only cacti for food and water, and then a cop tells me that I have a broken wrist, a broken arm, my legs are bruised and – and-!" I cut off, unable to choke out the words to him. "And I've just lost my baby!"
"Shh, pet, Akuma's fine," Orochimaru soothed. "He's perfectly healthy, I promise."
"That's not what – I give up!" I screamed, not making heads or tails out of what he was talking about. What part of 'miscarriage' did he not understand? Surely he sensed that – right? "I give up! If you can't tell the difference between embryo and baby, then I. Fucking. GIVE. UP!"
I stormed off, sobbing at the loss of my unborn child, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Secretly, I wanted Orochimaru to either hug or kill me – at that moment, I didn't care which.
Orochimaru stared as she stormed away from him, the reality of what she'd been saying sinking in. The baby was dead. Akuma was healthy. She was suddenly confused that he couldn't tell an embryo from an infant. Oh. Oh.
She'd been pregnant a second time.
"Sarah! Sarah," he called out her name desperately, knowing now why she was upset and over-hormonal again. He raced off to find her, praying he wasn't too late. He found her sobbing her eyes and heart out in a clearing once more, and it was tearing holes in his heart.
"Go away," she sobbed, and he came up beside her.
"Angel," he said softly. "I could never be angry at you for this. If anyone is at fault, it's Tsunade. She knew, and she let you come anyways. As soon as we find him, we'll kill him for killing our unborn child."
"No, the balance mustn't be broken," I said sadly. "We'll have to transfer my mother over to Otogakure and then another ninja over to our world. D-daughter…"
"It was a...girl?" Orochimaru asked softly, and I nodded. "You had a Hyuuga check, didn't you?" I nodded once more. "Oh, sweetheart, shhh. I'm here. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. Through good and the bad, that's what we promised. I'll leave you, but only for a few minutes while I go get your mother into Otogakure dungeons and then a prisoner ninja to Earth."
"Promise you'll be back," I sobbed, and he nodded.
"I'll send Tsunade your way to see if she can stabilize the baby or if she's really lost," he said, a faint glimmer of hope at least trying to squeeze through.
I snapped my eyes open to find the room empty once more except the two female CSI's as before. They eyed each other, and then stared at Tsunade as she walked in. I sat up, happy that Orochimaru had made good on his word.
"I'm so sorry, Sarah, I should have known," she apologized, her arms out to me, and the two CSI's tensed up. "ANBU, huh? You really dug a grave this time, kiddo. Can I see?"
I sat up, and opened up my hospital gown for her to stick her hand on my stomach. I felt my eyes begin to water, and tried to keep it in.
"Is – is she?" I pled, and she sighed.
"She's still inside, but just barely. I'm going to put you on a strict regime if you're going to keep this baby," she warned.
"Anything!" I pled, desperate, and she nodded.
"No ninjutsu training until she's born. Taijutsu, wait four months. Genjutsu – be careful. Don't overdo it. No drinking anything alcoholic, but I doubt I'll have to worry about that for you," she joked sincerely. "Let's see… ah, yes – the most important rule, is to make sure this doesn't happen ever again during the pregnancy. No getting too dehydrated, no getting hit or kicked in the gut – I recommend finding a room away from Orochimaru for the time being – and absolutely, under any circumstances, no sexual activity. Try not to get hit with Kunai or shuriken, that'd be good, and no smoking or doing any kind of drugs! Again, not your problem."
"Thanks, Tsunade-san," I sighed in relief. "That makes me feel so much better."
"Don't get too relieved just yet – you're still having a miscarriage. You were just carrying twins when it happened," she said sternly, and Sakura, Lee, Choji, Hinata, Orochimaru's and my jaw dropped.
"Twins?" Orochimaru asked, and the two CSI's tensed up even more.
"It's okay, he's my husband," I told them, and the Konoha genin stared at me. "And the others are my friends."
"Since when do you visit hospital patients, Orochimaru?" Sakura asked with a hand on one hip. "To wish them happy deaths?"
"Sakura, you should know by now that I hate repeating myself," I said loudly at the end for emphasis. "How shut your big yap, you over-obsessed sas-gay fangirl."
"Now, now, Kit, let's play nice," Orochimaru chuckled. "Even if she is a mouse."
"Haruno, Sakura. Akimichi, Choji. Rock Lee. Hyuuga, Hinata. I'm assigning you to protect Sarah while she's in this country. Orochimaru and I will be tracking down that serial killer," Tsunade said sternly.
"And dragging him off to give him a taste of his own medicine," Orochimaru growled into my ear.
"Yes!" I yelled loudly, then winced and gasped in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow. Owww!"
"Orochimaru, I'll brief you on her injuries on the way," Tsunade said businesslike, and he nodded as he led the way out of the hospital.
"Now what?" CSI Maple asked.
"Anybody up for a game of Spades?" Lee asked, pulling out a deck of cards. "or maybe some pushups, Sarah-san?"
"Sorry, Lee. No training whatsoever for the next few months. Not until I'm sure that this little one is safe and sound," I smiled softly as I put a hand on my stomach to spell out what I was saying.
"But, that's impossible! It was a miscarriage!" CSI Satyr said, and I glared.
"How often must I say that I hate repeating myself?" I asked, and they realized what I was talking about. I frowned, then yawned. "I wonder who the other helper is."
"Sarah-san," Gaara said as he whisked in using his sand. "I'm glad to see you're recovering."
"Thanks," I said smiling. "How're Kankurou and Temari doing?"
"They're avoiding me somewhat," he said with a shrug. "But they've always done that. Less now that Naruto helped me."
"Yeah, he sure is a life-changer," I said sadly, knowing he'd get really mad when he figured out what had happened to me. "Guys, go out for a bit. I want to talk to Gaara alone." They filed out, and about two minutes later, Naruto came in from the other direction.
"I heard you got used as tribute," Naruto growled out angrily as he walked in, and I froze.
"Naruto, I can explain," I said, putting my hands up. "It's not my fault! Orochimaru-!"
"I know what he did, you traitorous bitch! He supposedly 'raped' you and attacked Konoha to get you and your damn bastard child back!" he yelled angrily. "And then you go and say that you're his wife? What are you – his prisoner or his wife? Make up your mind!" he yelled angrily as he prepared to hit my gut.
His Rasengan connected with Sand.
"Naruto, let her explain," Gaara said calmly, using the sand to protect me.
"Naruto, you've always been the younger brother I never had," I said, tears beginning to well up in my eyes. "I knew you'd get mad if I said Orochimaru raped me, and I knew you'd try to kill the baby. So I went to sand for protection from that and a bunch of rogues who are after my cousin and me. I knew Konoha would want to punish my baby for what his father did, and I begged Tsunade to let me keep him. She agreed, knowing that Orochimaru would get pissed off and attack Konoha if he figured out I was pregnant with his kid. Well, somehow he found out while I was still pregnant, and attacked Konoha a few days after I gave birth. I went to Sound calmly to stop his attack on the village. I forced him to sign a blood pact that makes it to where he isn't allowed to attack Konoha as long as three conditions are met – I'm in the Sound. His and my children are in the Sound. And Tsunade is Hokage. Over the months, he's grown on me. He started spoiling me and the baby, and I… I got pregnant again."
"Yeah, with a baby you almost lost," he spat. "If it hadn't been twins, and for Lady Hokage pitying you, you'd have lost that infant that's still inside you. Besides that, Orochimaru was only using you to get his damn heir!"
"No, I think Orochimaru wants to keep me pregnant as much as possible," I said with a soft smile.
"I heard that!" he yelled, and I half jumped out of bed.
"Of course, the mirror," I laughed. "Hey, monster."
"Face me towards Naruto," Tsunade ordered, and I did. "Naruto, if you so much as even think about attacking her, most especially her gut, I will go over there and tear you limb from limb! And I'll let Orochimaru torture you half to death!"
"No objections here for that punishment," Orochimaru grinned. "Speaking of punishments, what would you prefer your attacker's punishment to be, pet?"
"Flaming hot senbons turning him into a monster," I replied, and the others all stared at me. "What? Oh, and for a backup plan if we don't get permission for that – make him watch gay porno and shove beer bottles up his butt."
"Count me in on that punishment!" Tsunade laughed, and Orochimaru chuckled alongside her.
"I'll see what I can do," Orochimaru said. "I'm not making any promises."
"Thanks, Maru," I said before the mirror went back to being a regular mirror. I looked at myself in it – I was as pale and skinny as he was in the face, and my curves were mostly gone from jutsu usage to keep myself alive. I was sickly pale all over, but not as bad as Orochimaru. I had heavy dark circles under and around my eyes, but not nearly as prominent as Gaara's. And my brown hair had gotten so matted that they'd chopped it short, like Hinata's.
"You bitch!" Naruto yelled, and I watched the two CSI's force him out of the room and lock the door behind them as Hinata, Lee, and Choji headed back in.
"Show me Orochimaru," I said to the mirror, and it glowed purple once more.
"Well, the courts had ruled that her punishment be punished by you," one of the judges said in Arkansas. I stared in shock at Orochimaru's persuasion skills. "And we'll take that um – ANBU member as a new cop. Thanks a bundle for helping us catch that serial killer!"
"Not at all," Orochimaru purred. "I merely felt it was my civil duty since he kept calling me 'my lord' for some strange reason. I don't even know the lunatic!"
"Well, that went extremely well," Tsunade grinned.
"Indeed – ah, now, now, pet, no need to be prying. Or are you really too bored in there?" he teased as he pulled the mirror back out.
"Naruto - !" I said, but cut off, recalling that nobody liked a snitch. "Naruto needs to work on his temper. Can you tell Jiraiya-sama that for me, Tsunade-sama? I mean, you two are his teammates."
"Well, that'll require – he attacked you, didn't he?" Tsunade asked, and I bit my lip. Orochimaru nodded as a translation for Tsunade, knowing that nobody liked a snitch.
"Think about it, Nade," Orochimaru laughed. "How would you feel if you'd lost one of your twins and Nawaki-kun tried to kill your other twin because of who the father was?"
"I'd hate that," Tsunade said sadly. "I can see your point of silence, and the long face, Sarah. We need to get you a different name. Something more Japanese."
"Too late," Orochimaru grumbled, and I jumped as I heard a loud thunderclap. "Best be getting to bed, pet. I want you well rested for the trip home."
"Hai, Orochimaru," I said before putting my mirror on my nightstand. I stared as Hinata resealed it in a scroll. "Thanks, Hinata-san. That mirror – it was the first present Orochimaru ever gave me. It was right after he'd brought me back to Sound as tribute, and he'd said it was a late birthday present for me so I could watch my family whenever I wanted since he noticed I was still pining after them a lot."
"It's been a year, hasn't it?" Hinata asked hesitantly, and I nodded. "It's so hard to believe."
"I know – I'm almost twenty," I said in shock. "Twenty in a few months' time, and I probably might go to the next Chunin exams if I can wing it."