Author's Note: This chapter is based off of a request by WinglessAngel01. The suggestion for the story by the reader will be the summary for this chapter.
Summary: Sasuke and Kabuto on a trip through the Sound Village.
Time check: Near the end of the first 2 months after Sasuke joins Orochimaru.
Chapter 7: First Visit
Sasuke Uchiha had officially joined Orochimaru's forces two months ago after being taken from Konoha by the Sound Ninja 4/5. The former Leaf ninja still wasn't sure if the pale guy really was the leader of the people he was introduced to as the Sound Ninja 4. Of course if the fifth member truly had been out of commission for a long time the group couldn't call themselves the Sound Ninja 5 with only 4 people. Either way it didn't matter since the word was the whole group had died that day. It was also very apparent that only the possible leader was the only one his new master cared about. Within a week of his coming to Orochimaru's Lair, Sasuke spotted a picture of the man Kabuto had told him was meant to be the Sanin's vessel if the Leaf Genin had not joined them. None of the other Sound Ninja special unit seemed to be remembered and certainly not in a frame with what looked vaguely like a heart shaped design. Sasuke had shuttered at seeing the snake man blush and hide the picture of Kimimaro while assuring the boy he was only interested in his new apprentice's body now. The young Uchiha hoped Orochimaru meant solely as a new vessel.
Those whole two months Sasuke had not entered the Sound Village, but rather stayed in the Lair on the crest of a hill overlooking the valley where the Village Hidden in the Sound was located. Never did it cross Sasuke's mind to go to that place. Getting out of the Lair was something he did whenever he needed to escape from a creepier than usual Orochimaru or particularly agitated Kabuto. However, each time he left the Lair he did not have the desire to see what kind of person was crazy or desperate enough to join the Sound Village. Well one day at the end of the two months Sasuke felt like he no longer had the choice. That day there were two available options: 1 – Go help Kabuto with an errand that involved handing out something from the large boxes by the exit, OR 2 – Take some kind of body compatibility test to see if Sasuke was really a good candidate as a new vessel. Since Orochimaru wouldn't fully explain the second option this caused the former Leaf Genin decided it definitely wasn't something he would want to do when other alternatives were available.
So now Sasuke was on his way to the Sound Village, carrying a large box with the music note symbol of the Village and following closely behind Kabuto. Although he didn't trust this dark medic nin and hated how the older shinobi got to take the smaller of the two boxes, Sasuke would not be straying too far from this man's side. The last thing Sasuke needed right now would be to get lost in a village where he didn't know anyone and the other ninjas probably wanted to hurt or even kill him. Or worse, there could be fan girls with ear piercing shrieks of glee fueled by sound manipulating abilities. There were days when the Uchiha thought he would go deaf from the screeching of the Konoha fan girls and they kept their distance. Sasuke couldn't be guaranteed that the kunoichi of this village would stay back or that they couldn't make him deaf from still far away. Kabuto would probably watch in amusement if girls attacked him or fought over a piece of clothing they had managed to tear off the newcomer's body.
Initially Sasuke was relieved to see the ninjas were keeping their distance if they noticed him at all. A few of the shinobi called out to Kabuto or gave oral reports on the status of things concerning the Village. One ninja in particular came up to Sasuke's guide just to speak with the white-haired man. What the two shinobi started talking about first made the former Leaf Genin blush and try to hide behind the large box he was carrying. Then the boy's stomach started to churn and the Uchiha wished he had learned a sound jutsu capable of blocking out all sound. Overall, the conversation was bordering on traumatizing and Sasuke spent what felt like a very long time trying to get certain images out of mind.
Luckily for the uncomfortable Genin, Kabuto remembered the reason why he had come down to the Sound Village in the first place and dismissed the other shinobi. The pair of ninja walked on in awkward silence until they reached the center of the Village Hidden in the Sound. Now having arrived at their destination, the two shinobi dropped the boxes to the ground and opened them. Sasuke was instructed to hand out the contents of the boxes to any approaching ninja. Right after giving his partner orders Kabuto called out "It's time! All interested parties step forward!" Immediately shinobi rushed to the spot from all different places.
Just about the entire Village seemed to be showing up. As this was happening Sasuke was trying very hard to use the wall behind him and the box in front of him as barriers against the oncoming crazies. Many shinobi also started to get Sasuke to watch them perform a jutsu or ask him questions. Soon he was being pulled and spun around constantly in all directions. Everyone seemed to be competing for his attention and this was more than Sasuke could handle. To top it off most of the competitors were full grown men and the boy was considering what was worse, crazed fan girls or deranged Sound ninja. Kabuto knew for a fact Sasuke had been mobbed by fan girls before when he was in Konoha and hated every second of those experiences, but he didn't think any of those encounters were anything quite like this. The former spy enjoyed Sasuke's discomfort until a full scale battle was on the verge of breaking out.
"Alright, back it up! There will be plenty of time for that later. You all should know the plan by now so it's about time you all started following it. When you have completed Part 1 in its entirety then you can get in position for Part 2. If you already have your packet clear out and get started already!"
Instantly the crowd began to disperse as a few stragglers collected their papers. A disheveled Sasuke slid down the wall, slowly lowering himself to the ground. His arms were numb, there were tears in his clothes, scratches and bruises could be seen on his limbs, a shoe was missing, and his hair was an absolute mess. Kabuto tried to stifle his laughter at the sight of a post-trampling Uchiha. From his seated yet slumped over position in a small voice Kabuto could barely hear, Sasuke was asking to return to the Lair. Unfortunately the pair could not return yet.
"Why not? Haven't I been through enough for one day? I'm missing a shoe and I look like I escaped from a pack of rabid animals."
"Sorry Sasuke-kun. We can't leave until after Part 2 is finished."
Angrily kicking the box he had carried Sasuke watched as one of the remaining packets fell out. Carefully the young shinobi read what was printed on the cover: Part 1: Questionnaire. 'A questionnaire? Surely this is some kind of joke,' Sasuke thought bitterly. It appeared to be he had survived an onslaught of psycho sound nin for a pointless reason.
"We'd better hurry. We're in charge of overseeing Part 2."
Kabuto dragged a protesting Sasuke to his feet while listening to complaints about having to be involved.
"If you haven't noticed by now why you in particular must be involved this will surely be an interesting shock …. I mean surprise. And don't worry about your appearance. I brought along a change of clothes, complete with shoes, in addition to everything you'll need to fix your hair."
Sasuke was totally confused. Obviously he missed something somewhere between when he left this morning and this exact moment. The wicked smirk on Kabuto's face was a pretty good indication that the day would turn from bad to worse.
In a few moments Sasuke's prediction was proven correct. Since he was too busy watching all the Sound shinobi within sight from the time he entered the Village until he reached the building where Part 2 of the infuriating mystery mission would commence Sasuke had missed something; a great multitude of the exact same something to be exact, which Kabuto had plastered all over the walls of the buildings in the surrounding area.
"What the HELL is this!" Sasuke demanded in a rage.
"Too late to back out now, we're already here." Kabuto shouted in response as he pushed Sasuke past the heavy wooden door.
What Sasuke saw was a blown copy of a poster. In extra large letters printed across the top the poster had We Want You for the new Sound Ninja 4! Dead center was an embarrassing illustration of Sasuke as the recruitment spokesperson pointing out to the readers, beckoning them to join. With the way the version of him on the paper was dressed he could have been a dead ringer for an Orochimaru mini me if the illustrator had painted his face white and added some makeup. Running across the bottom was the date and time in addition to the name of the building Sasuke was currently locked into thanks to the sealing jutsu on the door and the area of the floor he was currently occupying.
Now the Uchiha was stuck wearing the same damn outfit from the poster in a chair he was almost sealed to. He was also forced to being subjected to watching would be candidates explain why they should be chosen as part of the next group of Sound Ninja 4. Then the shinobi demonstrated some of their jutsu to prove their strength. The contest dragged on for hours and Sasuke felt like he was stuck in a bad reality show. He would have preferred them to just fight it out and the last 4 standing got the job. Instead the former Leaf Genin was stuck taking notes on what the contestants said and did before reading the surveys every participant handed in.
Not all of the candidates were any good. Sasuke was almost blown up or sliced to pieces by backfiring jutsu. Some people froze onstage, unable to anything, causing the next person to have to throw those unfortunates off the stage. One such person was thrown at Sasuke and landed in his lap. He couldn't push the big man off fast enough much to Kabuto's amusement. Kunai, shuriken, and other projectiles kept landing dangerously close to Sasuke's body, especially places he never wanted hit. A few of the kunoichi even tried flirting with Sasuke and offering favors only they could provide a man should he choose them. One person was particularly forceful and almost had to be escorted out of the building. This person was quite attractive and drew Sasuke's attention. There weren't many as beautiful as this person back in Konoha.
"He really seems fascinated with you Sasuke-kun. You must be special; he normally doesn't take any interest in other people."
"HE?" Sasuke sputtered as he choked on the tea he was drinking.
Now Sasuke didn't know what to think. As much as he wanted to believe Kabuto was just messing with him because he likes torturing people there was a chance it was the truth. Nowhere in the five great nations did a law exist that male shinobi couldn't dress and act like women. Rumors of people like that circulated around Konoha when Sasuke was starting to go out on missions. At first he had thought Haku was a girl when Sasuke met him on one of his first real missions. More than ever Sasuke wanted to get out of the Sound Village and never come back.
Only a few more contestants were left but Sasuke was no longer paying attention. He was totally focused on pretending this day never happened. It was all a strange dream and he would wake up any minute now. When he woke up the next he had convinced himself it was a dream. One he never wanted to repeat. Orochimaru bursted that bubble at breakfast when he accused him of betraying his trust by flirting with a tranny and therefore deserved to be punished. This was going to be a long apprenticeship, especially if Orochimaru had a good memory.
Author's Note: Thanks again to WinglessAngel01 for her suggestion for a chapter and I'm sorry for taking so long to post it! I do have other requests I'm working on but more suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for reading and please review if you liked this or any other chapter.