Me: I do not own Naruto!
Last time:
"I see." He smirked, taking off his hat. "Neither tired nor ill-prepared, are we? This will be more fun than I thought."
Kasumi wanted to close her eyes and curl up in a ball. Maybe cry a bit.
Snake
"You want my earth scroll, right?" The genin-who-wasn't-a-genin said with a smirk, holding up the scroll for them to see, "Since you guys have the heaven scroll." Without preamble, his long tongue wrapped around the scroll and he swallowed it whole, even licking his lips after the deed was done.
"Now, let's begin," He breathed, finger on his eye, "the battle for each other's scrolls..."
Kasumi could have told him that there was no need. That they already had an earth scroll, that they had an extra heaven scroll they could give him if that was what he wanted. She could have said that.
But she didn't. Because this man didn't want their scroll. He wanted a fight. He wanted Sasuke.
And Kasumi couldn't give him Sasuke.
"With our lives on the line." He inserted a finger into his eye socket and pulled down his skin, like it was wrinkling paper, like he was a rotting corpse.
Kasumi was no stranger to killing intent. She had experienced it before, of course, with Zabuza and Haku, and even before that, with those experienced, prejudiced ninja aiming to kill her and her family. She had been under the force called killing intent before.
There was killing intent. And then, there was killing intent. This was most definitely the latter. Cuts appeared everywhere on her body, her own blood vibrant crimson in the air. Pain seared down her body; a kunai was stuck in her forehead. The air was faintly pink, the world drenched in monochrome. She couldn't move. She couldn't scream. She couldn't breathe.
This was terror. Madness. Death.
It was like being face to face with the Shinigami. You knew you should move. Should run away as fast as you could. Should try and live, try and survive. But... for those brief seconds as you came face to face with Death itself, all you could do was freeze and tremble. And that was exactly what she did, all that she could do.
"Guu! Blaah!" Sasuke gasped, fell down to all fours, and threw up on the ground.
Kasumi was vaguely aware that she had slid down to her knees as well, but most of her concentration was on not fainting.
"Kasumi..." She heard him whisper and in that whisper, she heard the realization that had hit her long before. Sasuke was starting to understand their situation. Just like back in the Land of Waves, when they were facing Zabuza.
Except that had been Zabuza then. And Kakashi, their strong, protective sensei, had been there, a comforting shield against the murder of the Demon of the Hidden Mist. This time, they were on their own.
And they were going to die.
"Hehe... you can no longer move." Their opponent observed with a satisfied smirk.
They were going to die.
Sasuke hauled himself to a crouch beside her, a kunai raised in the air although his entire body was trembling.
They were going to die.
But... Kasumi wasn't ready to die. She couldn't do that to Hiroshi-nii-san. She couldn't do that to Naruto-san. She couldn't do that to Sasuke-san.
She didn't want to die.
So don't. Came the response of the part her mind that was still working, and just like that, she could move again. And so when the Grass nin threw two kunai at them, she didn't need Sasuke's help to spring to her feet and up and away, leaving a smoke bomb on the ground. Killing intent was fear and pain. Kasumi knew both intimately, and she would not let them dominate her.
Not when she wasn't ready to die in this world.
Droplets of blood were left on the ground as they left through the trees, pouring on the speed as best they could with the lingering effects of the killing intent still running through their systems. Five minutes later, Kasumi watched with a small frown as Sasuke yanked the kunai he had stabbed into his knee out, sitting against the massive branch of a tree some distance away. "Guh!"
"..." She snapped her fingers soundlessly through the Mystical Palm Technique and placed her glowing hands over the wound. Pain and blood loss could combine in spectacular ways to distract shinobi during fights; it was best to just not deal with it.
When Kasumi pulled back half a minute later, Sasuke was staring at her, a sudden, incisive realization in those striking Sharingan eyes. He leaned forward to speak quietly, lips brushing the outer edge of her ear, "This... this was what had you so worried, wasn't it?"
She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "Yes."
"... Why didn't you tell us?"
"I... didn't want it to be true." Kasumi whispered, admitting the truth for the first time to herself. And although understanding born of profound terror flickered across Sasuke's face, she thought to herself, 'I'm such a hypocrite. Wasn't I preaching the meaninglessness of lying to yourself not a few weeks ago? But that was before I re-woke the Tentaoira...'
It was why she had sealed it away in the first place. Her bloodline told her things that she... that no one wanted to know. To survive, to live on, you had to have hope. That was the principle of the matter, really. At rock-bottom, staring the Devil in the eye, you could have hope. The Tentaiora, more often than not, didn't allow even that.
She had known that her Okaa-san and Otou-san had died. She had known that Haku was dead. She had known that entering the Chunin Exams would be dangerous, ever so dangerous. She had known that things would change, and not for the best.
But each time, every time, she had denied it to the end, desperate for another outcome. Even now, even after meeting their opposition, Kasumi could almost fool herself into thinking they would all be able to get out of this alive and well. A miracle would fall into their laps, a star would drift from the sky, a team of Anbu would arrive to take him off of their hands.
Oh, the futility of the human heart.
A self-depreciating smile danced on her lips, pain swirling cream in her coffee eyes, but before Sasuke could say anything else, a shadow fell upon them and an alarm blared bright red in her mind. "No!" Kasumi lurched forward, grabbing Sasuke's arm and pushing off seconds before the large, brown snake smashed through the tree branch they had been resting on.
Her mind made the connection in a heartbeat. Snakes. Snakes equal bad. Stay away from snakes. Landing harshly on the ground, barely keeping from stumbling, Kasumi wrenched Sasuke to his feet and whirled around to face the snake hissing threateningly above them.
What did they have at their disposal at the moment? She didn't want them to get too close to that thing; who knew if it was poisonous? Fire, wind, water, lightning. Neither of them were fully adept with water or lightning currently. Fire and wind.
"Fire." Kasumi commanded, already forming her fingers into seals. "Low level." Wasting chakra right now could be near fatal in the future.
Sasuke didn't argue. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" He inhaled deeply, blowing a volley of small fireballs at the snake.
Well, that was a new one. Looks like she wasn't the only one practicing new jutsu. But those would come later. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" The gust of wind, minor in comparison to some of her other ones and absolutely tiny to the one the Grass nin had attacked them with, nonetheless sent the flames flaring and slamming into the brown scales of the snake's throat.
It made a squealing sound, rearing back. Wavering around for a few seconds as if drunk, it finally crashed down against a tree, dead. Breathing a silent sign of relief despite the refusal of the warning in her mind to let up, Kasumi glanced at Sasuke and saw, to her surprise and concern, that he was shivering, face paler than normal. She moved closer, letting her upper arm brush against his in an effort of comfort.
He flicked a troubled look at her, breath coming fast and shallow, but a ghostly sound caught both of their attention. Snapping their necks around to peer back at the dead snake, they saw cracks appear in the snake's back and the Grass nin break through the scales, covered in fluids Kasumi didn't want to think much about.
Oh, Kami-sama. Who was he?!
"You guys shouldn't relax for even a moment." He said, straightening slowly. His tongue was hanging out, eyes black and soulless. "Prey should always be trying their best to run away... In the presence of a predator, that is."
Kasumi's eyes widened, tensing instinctively as he, unknowingly, echoed her own thoughts from the start of this Accursed Exam. Quick as the snake he had been hiding in, the Grass nin was abruptly moving, his lower body that of the cold-blooded reptile. He was wrapping around the tree when she noticed that her fingers were forming seals.
... Ah. Sometimes - most of the time - her bloodline confounded even herself.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Orochimaru
The combined wind jutsu tore across the forest, succeeding in throwing their opponent back. He righted himself soon enough, slithering around firm tree with an unfortunately strong grip-hold as the leaves were violently ripped from their branches, some of the smaller branches themselves breaking and adding to the windstorm of shrubbery churning through the air.
By that time, Kasumi had already nudged Sasuke into following her up to the tree branch from where Naruto stood, hand on pocket and confident grin in place. "Sorry I'm late, guys."
The Grass nin laughed lowly. "Looks like you successfully defeated that giant snake, Naruto-kun."
'... Oh. So that was what kept him,' Kasumi observed to herself, biting her bottom lip.
Sasuke gritted his teeth as they landed in a crouch beside him, hands curling into fists. "Damn it, Naruto! I know you think you're cool and here to save us, but forget it! Run away! This one is on a whole 'nother level..." He trailed off, eyes widening when he registered the hand Kasumi had risen in front of his mouth.
"It's useless, Sasuke-san." She said softly, rising to her feet. Because... she finally understood. And it was a bittersweet understanding.
"Kasumi-chan...?" Naruto questioned, taking in her expression with a frown.
"He doesn't want the scrolls. He doesn't need one of the scrolls. What he wants from us... is something entirely different." She kept to herself her growing suspicion that this man wanted something from Sasuke in particular - there was no need for any heroic or martyr like moves to curb.
"Hehehe... how did you guess, little girl?" He asked with a pleased smirk, licking his lips with that snake-like tongue.
Snake. Something in her memory pushed at her. She was forgetting something. But now wasn't the time to wander down memory lane.
"There's no way you're a genin." Kasumi said, paying no mind to the way Naruto shifted and Sasuke clenched his jaw. "Or a chunin. Perhaps not even a jounin... at least, not a special one." The wind blew between the trees, rustling her hair and cooling the sweat on her nape.
The Grass nin's smirk widened. "That would be correct, Fumei Kasumi. I wonder... how would Hidden Mist react if they knew two members of the famed Fumei Clan still lived?"
This time, Kasumi was the one who tensed, images of the horror from five years ago springing up anew. Blood and screams and death. At her side, Naruto actually growled, cerulean blue eyes flashing with the barest tint of red, "Don't you dare, you bastard!"
Sasuke said nothing, but pushed himself up to his feet, Sharingan eyes spinning. He moved slightly so that he was angled between Kasumi and the Grass ninja, the hilt of a kunai clenched tightly in his hand. She was still staggering over the mental blow, but...
"Who are you?" She questioned with a helpless shake of her head. There were few, few people who truly knew about the veracity of her existence.
He smiled widely, eyes as cold as the snakes he emulated. "I..." The Grass-nin-who-wasn't-a-grass-nin drew up his left sleeve, revealing a swirling tattoo. He bit his finger, drawing a line of blood down his arm and over the mark, "... am Orochimaru!"
Kasumi's eyes went wide, her breath catching in her throat. Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin, Missing-Nin, S-ranked Ninja. Former student of the Hokage, on par with Princess Tsunade and Jiraiya, the Toad Sage. He was... so far out of their league that it was funny.
Hysterically funny. Kamikaze funny. Suicidal funny.
Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha.
"Kasumi-chan?!" Naruto's voice rose over the enormous gale that swirled around Orochimaru as he performed hand-seals.
She could only smile tremulously and whisper, "I... I underestimated him."
Naruto's mouth fell open and Sasuke's eyes cursed under his breath, but none of it mattered any more. Because...
"Summoning Jutsu!" Orochimaru yelled and the wind sang around him and all at once there was a gargantuan snake underneath him, brown with dark spots. Slitted yellow eyes zeroed in on the trio, its forked tongue flicking in the air.
From bad to worse, Kasumi thought to herself, wondering if this was what hysteria felt like. Bad to worse. Could it get worse than that?
She considered that for a millisecond. Probably. The wintry fog drifting into her mind was preferable to the nausea and fright, but it did seem to impend her thought processes some. She blamed it on the shock.
"Cute prey." Orochimaru purred from his new position almost twenty-feet above them, perched on top of the head of his summon. "Such cute prey."
And he was the predator about to eat them. Kasumi processed that at a rate 200% slower than usual. It would be nice for the adrenaline to kick in right about... now. Alas, things seemed determined to get worse and who was she to stop them?
Except, of course, Orochimaru, if she remembered right, had been kicked out of Konoha for illegal, highly disturbing experiments and had set his eyes on her team. Except that. Oh, and he was planning on killing them. Lovely, lovely plans.
That... really was enough of her rambling and procrastinating. Better get to work. Sighing deeply, Kasumi mentally kicked her brain into gear. There was practically no way they would be able to fight Orochimaru and win. None. Nada. Zip.
Solution #1: They could run.
Probable result: Orochimaru would exceed them in speed and kill them.
Solution #2: They could hide.
Probable result: Orochimaru would find them without any problems and kill them.
Solution #3: They could fight and hope that sheer recklessness would get them out of here alive.
Probable result: Orochimaru would 'fight' back (play with them for his own amusement until he was bored) and kill them.
... But time would be wasted and every second was one more second that someone might notice something was off and come investigate. She shrugged mentally, hyper-aware of the steady coiling of the monstrous snake, a meat-eater about to strike.
It was the best plan she had and they may as well make do.
"Naruto-san, wind. Sasuke-san, fire." Kasumi instructed, mind furiously making and deleting battle plans. Speed was a no-no. So was close combat. If they could ward off Orochimaru enough with jutsu...
She politely ignored the part of her mind that pointed out he was a Sannin, as powerful as the Hokage, and doubtlessly, an expert of jutsu. She was allowed to be hopeful and optimistic and naive. If only for a while. Maybe crossing her fingers after she was finished with her hand-seals would help?
Kami-sama, she was so desperate.
"Got it!" Naruto grinned, relieved now that his female teammate wasn't acting strange anymore. His face held only fierce determination and resolve, cerulean eyes bright and clear. "Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
"Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique!" There was a strain of grim resignation in Sasuke's voice that Kasumi recognized in her heart, an understanding that Naruto would probably never acknowledge. It was the understanding that there could only be one ending to this match, no matter what they did.
And yet, as prey must inevitably struggle and run and hide and fight when faced with a ravenous predator, so they couldn't simply give up and accept their fate.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" There was a "whoosh" as the fire and wind combined to burst forward in a massive firestorm, incinerating the obstacles in its way as it rushed forward in waves of heat and destruction. Kasumi instinctively threw her arms over her face, turning her face away from the source of all that fever.
Orochimaru merely smirked, laughed that chilling death, and bought up his hands, weaving through hand-seals so fast his fingers were a blur. "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave." He inhaled deeply and spit out a shocking amount of water, wiping away their fire in a moment and effortlessly beginning to flood the clearing.
"Shit." Sasuke glanced down at the waves licking at the tree trunks, climbing steadily and mercilessly. "High ground! Go for the high ground!"
In unison, they leapt for the upper tree branches, chakra enhanced boots sticking to the bark. They had barely cleared the peril of the liquid danger beneath them when there was a black and yellow shade and Orochimaru was right in front of them, a feral smirk stretching across his face.
Kasumi only had time to gasp in surprise before his foot brutally connected with her stomach, sending her slamming towards the ground at terrifying speeds. However, seeing as this was a forest, there was, naturally, several obstacles between her and the veritable pond beneath her.
And those "obstacles" turned out to be the very thick, very strong tree branches that she had flown by hardly ten seconds ago. The sheer force and velocity of her descent was enough for those branches to break beneath her, but not before the impacts sent white stars bursting in front of her eyes and knocked the breath out of her.
Blinking rapidly to clear her vision, Kasumi had scarcely the sense of mind to right herself and maneuver her limbs into the correct diving position. The water came as an icy shock, another insult to her poor, battered body.
On the positive side, it cleared away the haze of fear and pain from her mind. On the negative side, she was now in danger from suffering pneumonia and her muscles were already cramping up.
For what felt like a second but could have been an eternity, she floated in the small pond, eyes fluttering closed. It was so cold… and she was so tired. It would be okay if she rested for a minute or two, right…? Just one second. A cloud of bubbles rose to the surface from her lips. One more minute... that was... okay, right...?
Naruto-san. Sasuke-san.
No. No, it wouldn't be okay. What was she thinking? 'Get a grip!' Kasumi barked at herself, frustrated with her own weakness. What was she doing?!
Clenching her jaw so tightly it was almost another source of pain, she gathered up her wits and swam up to the surface, breaking through with a relieved gasp. Kasumi revved up her mind and chakra, and got to her hands and knees on top of the water's top. She took a deep breath and winced, feeling a sharp throb radiate from her side.
Pushing through the pain, a whoosh of air caught her attention and she looked up just in time to see Naruto falling towards her, clearly unconscious. Her eyes widened and without a second thought, she built up chakra in her feet, releasing it in a burst to rocket off the basin and snatch her blonde teammate out of the air, taking no notice of the pain that coursed like liquid fire through her veins.
Definitely a broken rib or two.
Landing on a nearby tree, Kasumi cast a quick glance around, her ingrained training rising to the forefront. Orochimaru still stood on his pet snake, but his face… his face was burned, deeply burned.
'No, not his face,' She corrected herself, feeling for a pulse on Naruto's neck. 'His mask.' Underneath that wrinkly, crumbling layer, she could see part of his true face, pale and with such horrifying eyes.
A steady beat met her inquisitive fingers and Kasumi's shoulders slumped slightly. Naruto was alive. She had no idea what Orochimaru had done to him, but he was alive.
And Sasuke… Sasuke crouched on a tree to her left, blazing Sharingan eyes darting between her and Orochimaru. His body language screamed exhaustion and he was panting heavily, but he was alive. That was honestly all that Kasumi cared about at this point.
"Hehe… so the little Fumei is still alive?" Orochimaru smirked, as if her life and death meant less to him than that of a bug, except, perhaps, she provided more entertainment. "But, yes, it is Sasuke-kun who holds the most talent in this team. You really are his brother…"
Sasuke's eyes widened, stiffening visibly. "Itachi?! You know Itachi?!"
"Of course. And if you want power…" Orochimaru made a single hand-seal, and Kasumi went motionless as her alarms went crazy, their shrieking like nails against a blackboard. Setting Naruto against the truck, she took a hesitant step forward.
"… you will seek me out." Orochimaru's neck elongated, his head jerking forward unexpectedly, and he was fast. So fast. Kasumi was air-borne, aimed to intercept the Snake Sannin and her paralyzed teammate, but she could already tell she wouldn't make it.
He was so fast. And she was so slow.
The S-ranked ninja sank his teeth into Sasuke's neck and sprang back, feet starting to sink into the ground. Not two seconds later, Kasumi landed next to Sasuke and braced him when he lurched forward, face a pasty white.
The instant Kasumi touched the Uchiha, she had to fight not to flinch back. The chakra issuing from the wound at his throat felt wrong to her senses, like seeing a mutilated body, smelling rancid meat, tasting poison, hearing a slaughter, or feeling a corpse.
"UGH!" Sasuke arched forward, clutching at his neck. "aaAAGGHH!"
Kasumi gritted her teeth, whirling on Orochimaru. "What did you do to him?!" Shudders wracking his body, Sasuke fell to his knees beside her, crying out. Snake venom? A jutsu? Some obscure technique?
Halfway gone into the ground, skin peeling off his face, Orochimaru said, "I gave him a going away present," and was gone, leaving her with one unconscious teammate, one teammate in dreadful pain, and the most cruel helplessness searing through her veins.
Next time:
Naruto and Sasuke were still out.
Kasumi wouldn't let anyone touch them.
Me: I'm sorry, guys, but my muse just won't cooperate recently. I'm off to chase off it's strange ideas...~
byakugone: Lolz, yup! I'm so happy you like my story, hun! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Phususaur: Ah, really? I'll make sure to work on it, thanks for the feedback!
Anime hotty lover. 18: Lolz, right! Danger senses are really useful in the shinobi world. Thanks for the review, darling!
ShadowPhoenix14: Well, they tried! And then they failed... Thanks for the review!
VampireSiren: Yeah, unfortunately for Team 7. They...tried to run and then fight. It didn't really work out well. Thanks for the lovely review!
Rosy Fire: Lolz, cliffhangers are the point! But no worries, we got to the fight. But now how will Kasumi deal with this...*crackles evilly* Thanks for the review!
bonitalito: Mm-hm, that becomes a weakness, sorta. Hmm, training with Tsunade? We'll see if we get there. XD, thanks for the review!
LynnStark: Nope, it's good old Orochi. He's a meanie.
wookie. cookie: Lolz, they get beaten up. ;D
xenocanaan: Thank you! Hope you enjoy this one as well!
A Love So Strong: Hmm...maybe. :P. Super-heroine? Well, the higher you go, the longer the fall. Thanks for the review!
BurnedSpy: Well, Orochi considered it, but gave Sasuke the mark in the end. The Sharingan is just too hax for him to resist. Thanks for the review, hun!
starrat: Thank you very much! Hope you enjoy this chapter, too!
Guest: You're very welcome! Err... I don't have update intervals. I mostly update on the weekends, but I have other stories and I only update once per week. And my muse has been running off, too. Thanks for the review!
ShikiUploadz: *shrugs* Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. XD, Thanks for the review!
FleurSuoh: You got it!~
LateNightOwl: Mwahahaha...sorry, they're gone. Chocolate would be wonderful, but alas, they've run off and I'm right behind them! Thanks for the lovely review, hun, but I don't think they'll be coming back.
RedHairedOctavia: Oh, thank you! Hmm, the tournament, right? Guess we'll just have to see! Lolz, the curse mark ended up on Sasuke cause Orochi just couldn't resist. Her intuition is a double-edged sword at the moment, but it's a good weapon. Thanks for the splendid review, sweetie!
Alexandria Volturi: Aww, thank you! Her bloodline is basically an extreme intuition that notifies her on future danger. More explanation will be given later, but thanks for the reviews!
zahra. hardian: Lolz, I'm glad you think so, but Kasumi isn't an SI. She just has a strange bloodline. But I'm glad you like my story anyway. Thanks for the reviews!
lolistarkiller: Oh yes, he knows. And taunts her with it. I shall do my best, but my muse is running away! Thanks for the review, darling!
Good Omens: *-*, you wrote an omake!? For me?! Thank you so much, feel free to post it; I think it's wonderful! Thank you so, so much, sweetheart!
Marie: Mm-hm, and things are only getting worse...thanks for the review, hun!
SmillyReaper: Alright! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Guest: Why, thank you! XD
Guest: Hmm, well I'll try. She certainly won't beg if Sasuke chooses to leave. Kasumi's too proud for that. Thanks for the feedback, hun!
SoulXHunter: Aww, your review made my day! Lolz, I know what you mean by random fits of psychotic laughter. My family's used to it by now. I hope you like this chapter as well! Thank you so much for the amazing review!
scotsandspock: I'm glad you like my story! I'll do my best and thank you for the review, hun!
Me: Whew, so many reviews, you guys are wonderful! Like I said, it's really hard for me to find inspiration these days among the rest of the chaos in my life, so updates will be sporadic and there might be a hiatus somewhere in the future.
But thanks to my great beta and until next time~