Chapter 19: Enter! The Forest of Death Pt. I!

I was trying to put it all behind me.

The attendant unlocked our gate door and eased it open, stepping back as we braced ourselves, my muscles tensing. We stared out into the impending forest, hearing it's sounds, distant twigs snapping, birds calling, animals slithering. It was all sounds we were used to and yet, they all seemed bigger this time, and everything a little more ominous. I thought back to our briefing with Megumi-sensei, how I had thrown everything I knew on the table except for the strange connection I had felt to Karin and the memory of the red-eyed girl. I had told her about the Akatsuki and Itachi and I remembered how she had reacted, as if the news was nothing, as if it didn't bother her at all.

Hideki had been trying to put two and two together, trying to build a connection between the Akatsuki and Orochimaru which Megumi-sensei had waved off. Though overall it was unlikely, shaking the idea completely felt just as wrong as ignoring it. Then, there was the Rain mission and though we had completed it, all of us meeting up in the village, Sasuke hadn't said a word to me. After the fight with Karin and the Akatsuki member, he had waited for me to stop bleeding as the Cloud ninja did before taking off. Sasuke and I had walked in silence to the Rain village and though it had been agony, it had felt well deserved. Of course, him ignoring my existence after the fact felt uncalled for. But, I hadn't had a chance to pull him aside and I had seen enough of his apartment to last me a life time.

"Ready?" Hideki's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up as Kyoske shot him a confident grin. I balled my hands into tight fists, pushing it all behind me, telling myself that the mission at hand was more important, that the Forest of Death required all of my attention. I wasn't here to make friends and yes winning over Sasuke was important but not entirely necessary. I couldn't force something with someone who wasn't there, who wasn't willing to let anyone in. I just had to put myself one step ahead of him and beat Orochimaru to him.

"Yeah." I breathed, forcing a smile on my lips as Anko's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Alright maggots! The second part of the Chunin Exams has begun!"

That was all it took to send us into the forest and we propelled forward, sending chakra to our feet to run even faster. Moments later there was the sound of distant fighting, weapons hitting each other, people grunting, a few screaming. Kyoske grinned as we moved to higher ground, darting into the thick branches before we settled a few yards in. We eased down into a few steady branches and Hideki pulled out our Earth scroll from his back pocket.

"We need a plan." He said.

"What? Destroying and annihilating everyone we come into contact with not good enough?" Kyoske asked.

"Be serious." I said. "The ninja in here are going to come with everything they have. It's more than just Genjutsu tricks. A lot of these shinobi won't hesitate to kill."

Kyoske groaned. "Ugh! Miyuki I know that! I've met Gaara."

"We have the Sound ninja to worry about as well." Hideki added.

"We should go for them first then." I said. "Make sure they don't make it to tower."

"Yeah the more we get rid of the less of a challenge they'll be." Kyoske said.

Hideki shook his head. "I'm not worried about all of them."

"Team Dosu?" I asked. I remembered the picture of them. Hideki had slid it across the table this weekend and though they looked vicious, Dosu himself a little unsettling, we had agreed that we had seen far worse. There was Kin, a senbon user, with long, floor-length black as night hair, Zaku with his snarky smile and spiky black hair, and Dosu, heavily bandaged except for his left eye, his back hunched over, his single eye crazed. Out of the Sound ninja participating in the exams, they raised the most attention but then again, looks could be deceiving.

Hideki managed a nod before slipping the scroll back into his weapons pouch. "They're the only ones I couldn't get a good read on."

"Not to forget all their information sounds made up." Kyoske added.

"It just surprises me that they could be given the okay to take part in the exams."

"Maybe ANBU is on to them."

"Or maybe ANBU overlooked them." Hideki said and stood up.

"So what are we doing? Some spying?" Kyoske asked.

"No." Hideki said. "We're going to hunt them down and see what they know."

Kyoske smirked, rising to his feet. "So we're going to have some fun."

I could hear the deadly edge in his voice and knew we would be doing a lot more than asking questions. The truth was, we didn't trust the Sound and looking at all of them confirmed that in some way, shape and form, they were attached to Orochimaru. We might not have had information to back it up, but we felt it and if anyone new Orochimaru, it was us, his once prized experiments. Regardless, I was ready for whatever came our way and I would go above and beyond and was willing, after everything, to get a little bit of blood on my hands.

"We're being watched." Hideki breathed and that was when I felt it. It wasn't just one body, it was multiple bodies scattered around us, multiple chakra levels. They were concealed in the forest but I could still sense them, all on the ready for an attack. I wasn't sure how long they had been there but then realized that was why Hideki had taken out the scroll, to show them all who had it. But, something told me they weren't after the scroll.

That was when a strange ball of energy enveloped us and everything around sounded disoriented until the pain began, radiating down our ear canals and into our skulls. I gasped, my hands shooting up to cover my ears, to try and alleviate the sharp pain ringing through my head but it didn't help. The sharp sound, like a ting, a sharp chime, felt like it was inside of me, starting from within me and not an outside force. My legs felt wobbly and before I knew it, I was slipping off the firm branch, heading to the ground where I landed, hard. Kyoske and Hideki landed beside me, Kyoske squirming and groaning while Hideki grinded his teeth together.

It was an unbearable sound and when it ended, I was gasping for air, a cold sweat washing over my body as I could only lie there. Feet landed on the ground around us and I knew we were all vulnerable as we rolled onto our backs. My vision was blurry, but I could make out faces that connected to bodies and then there was the forehead protectors, the music note on the front. Kyoske groaned, probably seeing the same thing and my mind raced with ideas of what to do next.

"We figured we'd beat you to hunting us down." A snarky voice chuckled darkly. "Dosu knew you'd be protecting those Leaf brats and he wants Uchiha all to himself."

I coughed and felt something warm trickling out of my ears. I lifted a hand, pressing it to the warmth and brought my hand back, recognizing the crimson dot as blood.

"They've been watching us." Hideki coughed weakly.

A snicker broke out.

"That's right. We know all about you protecting that Uchiha brat and his little friends. He's seen all of you, especially you girl." Someone pressed the bottom of their shoe against the side of my face and I cried out as they pressed down.

"Miyuki!" Kyoske grunted. I was still too weak to reach up and swat their hand away so I had to lie there and take it.

"Don't worry though, we'll make this quick." There was the sound of something sharp being pulled from its holster and I felt my body tense. We had been through worse, disorienting sound wave and all. These shinobi thought they had us right where they wanted us but what they didn't know was that Orochimaru often pitted us against each other in worser conditions.

Hideki was the first to move, jumping to his feet and delivering a sweeping kick to one part of the group and the flash of silver revealed it was the part that had drawn weapons. The shinobi grunted and fell back and just as the others were drawing their weapons, Kyoske stood up and drew his sword. He swung it around and I heard it break through flesh as a few groans rang out. The group was off their feet and as Kyoske reached down to pull me to mine, I took a breath to prepare myself. The only way to deal with this was to let my emotions take over. They had come to us which cut our job in half and they had thought they would win. But, we were stronger than them which was why they had led with a jutsu that would stun us, blurry our vision and weaken us. But, we were beyond our senses and using those parlor tricks would only make us angrier.

"So let me get this straight." Kyoske said as he looked at the fallen Sound ninja. "You idiots follow Dosu?"

"He commanded you to attack us, to distract us while he went for Uchiha?" Hideki asked. "Why?"

"Like we'd ever tell you!" One of the ninja growled, rising to his feet and drawing a kunai. He wasn't the only one either. A few others pushed themselves to their feet and drew weapons as well, which made Kyoske snicker.

"I'd think about what you're about to do." I said. "And I want you to ask yourselves if it's worth it. You don't know us very well or what we're capable of and already my teammates are in a foul mood."

"Shut up!" A girl snapped at me, lifting two kunai, her eyes dark. "We're not here to talk things out. We're here to end you!"

"Funny." Kyoske said with a dark smirk, his head lowering, his bangs covering his eyes. "We're angry enough to do the same."

I knew there was no going back then. The look in Hideki's eyes said as much. We wouldn't let them run away. There was no going back. Dosu was the top dog, they had and he was heading after Team 7 which meant we didn't have much time. Hideki moved first, building chakra in his hand just before shooting a fist forward, connecting it to one of the Sound ninja's chests. Their eyes widened and they let out a cough, blood spewing out. There had been enough chakra in Hideki's hand to not only burst through the ninja's chest but in his case to make their heart palpitate, or better yet as their eyes grayed a little, explode. Another sharp cough forced more blood out of their mouth and then the ninja dropped.

There was a quick round of silence before the Sound ninja charged for us and Kyoske moved first, bringing down his sword. I dodged an incoming attack from the kunoichi with two kunai raised and managed to catch one of her wrists. She gasped as I twisted her wrist, her kunai flinging to the ground and kicked another incoming ninja in the groin. He groaned, falling back as I pulled the girls arm around, pressing her bicep to her throat. She coughed harshly and groaned in pain as I pulled a few kunai out of her holster and aimed them for another round of incoming Sound ninja, catching all of them in vital places.

Hideki was working his way through his group, slicing and kicking through the incoming ninja like they were nothing but training dummies. Kyoske was slicing and slashing, hitting his targets like the expert swordsman we had always known him to be. The girl beneath me shifted, bringing a fist to the side of my ribs and I grunted, bringing one of my knees behind hers, forcing her to her knees. I released her arm and before she could move away, pulled her into a headlock. She was lifting a hand to her kunai holster but I kicked it away and pressed my heel on top of it, making her groan. I could hear other Sound ninja charging from behind and knew I had to make this quick.

I steadied the girl with one arm around her neck while I placed a hand at the top of her head and in one sharp twist, the sound of her neck snapping echoed throughout the forest. I turned just in time to meet the group and jumped into the air, delivering one sharp kick after the other.

"Miyuki!" Hideki called out from above and I saw him standing on top of the tree we had fallen out of just as a ninja brought a kunai down to his water clone. I jumped up, landing in a branch at the same time as Kyoske.

"Water Style! Raging Waves!" As the stream of water left Hideki's lips, Kyoske and I sent kunai to the Sound ninja below, pinning a few to the ground as well as hitting a few others in their legs, making them drop. They screamed as the crushing wave of water slammed into them and I watched as Kyoske jumped even higher, motioning for us to do the same. We rose higher right before he jumped out of the tree, his hands weaving signs.

"Water Style!" He breathed, sucking in a breath. "Super Exploding Water Shockwave!" The water that came out from his mouth covered the entire clearing and even though it was muffled, whatever survivors Hideki's attack had left behind, Kyoske's finished. Kyoske held the attack for a few minutes, just for measure and when he finally released it, the waves rippling out into the forest, we stared down at the bodies below.

"That'll teach them." Kyoske grunted, his eyes dark.

I was ready to agree with him when a sharp sting shot through my neck, making me gasp. The sting grew and grew until it became a sharp, fiery pain that made my knees buckle.

"Miyuki what's wr—" Hideki was struck with it next, his hands shooting up to his neck, his fingers digging into his curse mark as he groaned and stumbled back, hitting himself against the tree bark. Kyoske was last and his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull as he cried out, curling into a ball on his tree branch, his breaths short.

It was a pain we knew intimately, a pain we had all been forced to suffer through but time was against us now. It had been years since we had last seen Orochimaru and the burning sting that shot through our bodies, that made my head feel hot, my senses jumbled, reminded us that no matter what, he had control over us. I let my hand trail up the side of my neck before it came down just inches from the source of my pain. I could feel the mark pulsing as my stomach turned sour, bile rising to my throat.

"He-he's close." I breathed, turning onto my side as the boys groaned. He was very close, just nearby, just a few feet away and I knew the closer we got to him, the more pain would course through our veins until we were standing right in front of him.

"Then what are we-we waiting for?" Kyoske growled through clenched teeth, sweat dotting his forehead. "Let's go rip that bastard a new one."

"N-n-no." I panted. "Sas-sasuke."

"Forget him." Hideki groaned. "Orochimaru is our priority not that boy."

I wanted to fight back but knew it wasn't worth it. What was there to fight about? They were right. Sasuke was second on our priority list and now Orochimaru was so close. I pushed myself to my feet, my knees wobbly as I fought with the part of me that said to break away and find Sasuke instead. I shot another glance over my shoulder and cringed as a new wave of pain from the mark shot through my body.

Hideki was right. Orochimaru was our priority and it was time to end this, expose him for the snake he really was. Past aside, he was a bad man. The things he did to people, the lives he ruined, the bodies left in his wake…he needed to be stopped.

We let the pain lead us to him and my vision was going double. We were standing in a dark and dank clearing, heavy moss hanging from the trees and as we looked up there was a Rain ninja standing on the highest branch. I recognized her as being the one who had brought back Anko's kunai after he had tried to scare Naruto.

"My children!" The woman breathed with a snake-like smile. We tensed, her voice not hers but his, smooth and alluring as it wrapped around us, made us stiffen. The woman chuckled at our reaction and and offered us her hands.

"You've returned." The woman said.

"Stop cowering behind your stupid bodies!" Kyoske yelled. "Come down here and fight us!"

The woman chuckled darkly, folding her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing. "Oh my little Kyoske…still not thinking before you speak."

Kyoske's hands balled into tight fists at his sides as his glare deepened. Hideki pulled out a kunai from his pouch and gripped it in his hand.

"You've all grown up." The woman said before her eyes cut over to me and I felt all the blood rush out from my face. "Especially you my little Miyu."

"Don't speak to her." Hideki growled.

I swallowed and nearly choked in the process, which made the woman laugh. "Nervous?" She asked, her thin lips curving into a smile.

"That's it." Kyoske growled. "I'm done talking." He moved then, jumping and drawing his sword, aiming for the woman's chest. The woman's smile deepened into a cruel grin as powerful winds surrounded the space between her and Kyoske and his body went flying back, slamming into a tree just behind us. The winds grew harsher and I felt my body sliding back, my arms swinging up to shield my face.

"Miyuki! Watch out!" Hideki called out to me sharply and I looked up just in time to see a huge snake tail swinging down toward me. I gasped and jumped back toward Kyoske. The tail slammed into the spot I had been standing in and suddenly there it was standing between us and the now cackling woman, hissing at us.

"Where did that come from?!" Kyoske shouted from below.

"You know how much he loves his little pets." Hideki grunted before jumping toward the snake and delivering a hard punch to its head. The snake hissed, it's body swaying from side to side.

Kyoske came shortly after and plunged his sword into the snake's neck, dragging his blade along the length of its body before ending at its throat. He jumped back, the snake hissing the whole time, and landed on a tree trunk, raising his sword in a defensive position. The massive snake burst into a countless array of snakes that shot toward us. We made hand signs as they neared us and inhaled at the same time.

"Fire Style! Fire ball Jutsu!" Our attacks rammed into the snakes, burning clean through them before powering through to where the woman stood. Her laughter echoed through the passing breeze and when we ended our jutsu she was nowhere to be seen.

"Impressive." Orochimaru's voice said through the passing breeze.

"Come out here and fight us!" Kyoske growled. "Don't be a coward!"

"Be careful what you wish for kid."

We all swung around at the sound of the new voice and for Hideki and Kyoske, it was just in time to see two other Rain ninja flying toward them. The Rain ninja kicked them square in the chest, sending them flying out from the trees before gravity forced them to land hard on their back.

"Kyoske! Hideki!" I called as the Rain ninja jumped out from the trees and landed a few feet away from the boys.

"Don't worry about us!" Kyoske growled. "Miyuki don't let your guard down! He's still out there!"

I shuddered at their words and began to look around the trees, my paranoia eating away at my chest. Just the thought of him slinking around through the trees, watching me and waiting for the perfect moment to strike filled with me an icy fear that I hadn't felt in years. I remembered last feeling it when he had pushed me into a darkened room, a room that had numbed my senses as snakes slithered around at my feet. There had been more than just snakes in the room, other test subjects lying in wait, other test subjects who had been there far longer than I had and had been pitted against me just as I had begun to find it hard to breathe.

I pulled a kunai from my holder and got into a defensive stance, my heart slamming in my chest. There was no point in looking back, especially not right now. I had to focus, had to stay in the moment. He had taught me the importance of that, of staying focused, of always staying on my toes because I would never know when my enemy would be—

"Behind you." His voice was like ice on my skin. I was about to swing around when field snakes shot out from the Rain woman's sleeves and wrapped around me, holding me in place and making it impossible to turn.

"Miyuki!" Kyoske called as one of the Rain ninja swiped at him with their own sword.

I couldn't breathe. My eyes were wide in my head as I thought back to all that this hold could do to a person. Squeeze the life out of them, break their bones…

He had always invented new ways of defending himself and I wouldn't be surprised if he could charge electricity through the snakes and shock me. The Rain woman's mouth was just on the outside of my ear, her lips grazing the skin, her breath hot as it washed over the side of my face and neck. I was panting, sweating big, heavy drops of sweat that dripped down my face and back.

"I can smell your fear." Orochimaru whispered in my ear, which made me shiver and him chuckle. Then his hands were on my hair, smoothing it to the side, to the left where the cursed mark laid.

"Leave her alone!" Hideki yelled.

"They sealed your mark, blocked you from your true power." Orochimaru said as I shivered under his snakes. His fingers smoothed over the mark, the three tomoe near the back of my neck. I had always managed to hide the mark with my hair, but now as the stiff air washed over it, I could feel the mark weighing me down, feel a distant ache emanating from it.

"Don't you wish to be free from their chains?" Orochimaru whispered in my ear. "Free from their control?"

"Miyuki!" Don't listen to him!" Kyoske growled. "You get the hell away from her!"

The Rain woman turned her head away from my ear and turned to glare down at the boys. "Silence!"

His words were sharp, like a knife and the boys froze, the other Rain ninja hesitating. Two pythons shot out from the ground a few inches from where the boys stood and before I could manage a warning, before the boys could even defend themselves, the snakes shot forward, sinking their teeth in their neck, into their cursed marks.

"You've all been blocked from your true power, your true natures." Orochimaru breathed, not bothering to mask his disappointment and disgust.

"Pl-please." I breathed, my voice small as the snakes tightened their grip around my body.

"Don't worry my children." Orochimaru said, his voice carrying over the field, filling the air. "I will free you from all that binds you."

"N-no." I squeaked, hot tears stinging my eyes as he cupped a hand over my mark. I flashed back to when Megumi-sensei had done the same, to each of us and by the end of it, collapsed from the sheer exhaustion. They were powerful seals, a technique she had learned from a Seal master in the Land of Rice and there was Orochimaru about to rip away all of her hard work.

"It will all be over soon." Orochimaru said, a hand moving through my hair, as if he was trying to calm me. "And soon you'll have a new brother…"

I shivered, thinking to Sasuke. I didn't want to imagine him with the seal, but I could. I didn't want to imagine him going through the same pain as us or even worse, going to Orochimaru, believing in his false words.

"St-stay away from him." I growled, surprised at the strength and firmness in my voice.

That was when Kyoske and Hideki screamed from down below and I saw them drop to their knees, their hands shooting up to grip the snakes that were still attached to their necks. They were in pain and I could already see in their faces that the seals that had kept us from pain were breaking. The sharp and powerful pain we had felt leading us to Orochimaru was nothing compared to the one that consumed when the seal was off.

"From who?" Orochimaru asked, the hand in my hair moving down to my throat.

I clenched my teeth together, my mind racing. I didn't have much time left before he removed my seal as well.

"U-Uch-Uchiha." I managed before sucking in a big breath and fighting against the snakes pressure to turn and face him behind his mask of the Rain woman.

His eyes widened with mock surprise and his grip around my throat tightened, making me gasp. His eyes turned a shade darker inside the woman's skull as a sinister chuckle escaped his throat. Below, the pythons released Kyoske and Hideki who collapsed, their eyes wide and gray.

"What are we going to do with her?" One of the Rain ninja called from below.

"I think you should worry about what my boys will be doing to you." Orochimaru said, his voice like venom, his eyes crazed. The Rain ninja turned to see Kyoske and Hideki on their feet, their mark seeping out it's dark aura, their mark glowing and spreading across their skin. Except, they weren't them anymore. They lifted their heads, their eyes still wide, the color gray, but there was something else, something just as dark behind their eyes. They weren't in control anymore.

"NO! KYOSKE! HIDEKI! DON'T DO IT!" I shouted but it was too late, they shot forward. Kyoske kicked one of the Rain ninja in the chest and I watched his eyes bulge as he went flying back. Hideki punched his opponent in the face and as they went spiraling back, Hideki appeared behind him and delivered a sickening blow to the back of his head as well. Kyoske was chuckling as he drew his sword from the ground and took measured and careful steps toward the Rain ninja.

I turned to glare at Orochimaru who was watching with interested eyes, an amused smirk playing on his lips.

"Stop them." I snapped.

"You know there's no stopping them until the job is done." Orochimaru chuckled just as one of the Rain ninja cried out. I looked back only to see Kyoske slicing and slashing at his ninja, a sick chuckle escaping from his lips as their blood went everywhere, on the grass, on the tree bark, on his clothes and even on his face. Hideki stood a little away and was proving he was faster than his opponent, always appearing at the last possible second and giving a quick jab to vital spots. His opponent was a second away from collapsing when Kyoske pulled out a handful of durable and transparent thread, wrapping it tightly around the ninja's neck, making him gag.

"HIDEKI!" I screamed, the snakes moving even tighter around my body. I couldn't stand back anymore. I had to do something. I struggled to make sense of my limbs inside the snake and managed to flick my wrist. Doing that allowed me to use my next Jutsu, one I had learned from Orochimaru himself.

The snakes confining me began to rumble and just as Orochimaru was turning to shoot me a look, his snakes shook before quite literally tearing apart, the white pythons bound tightly around my arms hissing as they rose up before flying toward Orochimaru who managed to dodge them all.

"Interesting!" Orochimaru called, landing in a branch a few feet away from me.

Kyoske was finishing up hacking at his opponent down below, the ninja's cries falling silent. Hideki, his wires attached to kunai sent them flying in both directions, aimed at trees that were about a good yard away. While the string was long enough to make it to the tree bark, the pressure around the Rain ninja's neck wasn't. He cried out, his beady eyes wide as his hands shot up to try and grasp at the string. I was pulling a kunai out from my holster and was getting ready to throw it when Orochimaru appeared, kicking me in my shoulder, throwing my aim off balance and sending my kunai up instead of at the scuffle in the clearing. The kunai were still flying through the air when the Rain ninja's head came clean off from the pressure, his blood shooting into the air, raining to the ground, a few drops splashing onto his face.

"NO!" I screamed as Hideki cringed, the markings spreading further along his skin, covering a third of his body instead of half. Kyoske's markings spread further as well and while they had covered half of his body before, they spread to cover everything but his right arm. They both cried out and dropped to the ground, their bodies trembling and twitching before they stopped altogether.

"Don't worry Miyuki my girl. Sasuke boy is in good hands." Orochimaru said before jumping into the air.

I pulled out a kunai and readied it in my hands as I waited for him to make his next move, bracing myself for the worst.

"I'm not gonna let you ruin him like you ruined me." I growled.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Ruined you? Miyuki, my dear, I granted your wish."

I flinched, remembering my answer to his question that night. I remembered the determination burning in my eyes as well, the feeling in my chest that screamed how much I meant it, how much I had wanted it. I shook off the memory as Orochimaru laughed, lifting a hand to touch and pull at the skin on his face. My eyes widened as it broke away and I could see a glimpse of the face I remembered from back then, the golden snake eyes and the purple markings around them.

"I heard you and Sasuke boy have been getting along well…spending time alone together…"

I shivered at the thought of him lurking just beyond the shadows and then remembered that he had probably never done it himself. He couldn't without us feeling him near, but that wouldn't stop him from sending one of his followers to do the watching for him.

"You bastard!" I snapped.

"But I think you're under the impression that you can change his deepest desire." Orochimaru said, his eyes turning cold. "Which if you think that Miyuki girl, that means you haven't learned anything from me after all these years."

He jumped into the air and out from his sleeves shot several snakes, all aimed at me. I began slicing at a few of them but in the blink of an eye there was just too many of them until Orochimaru's head appeared at the center and his mouth opened to reveal a thin white snake who opened its mouth and produced his Sword of Kusanagi. I gasped and lifted my kunai in defense until I remembered what the blade could do.

Our blades met and there was a distinct-CLANG-before his sword began to cut through my kunai. I gritted my teeth and broke away from the sword, backing deeper into the depths of the trees and away from his falling snakes. When I managed to skid to a stop, I could only take a breath before a sharp hissing from my left made me jump up right before another massive snake bashed its body against the tree I had just stood in. Another hissing from my right barely gave me time to dodge it and I was caught in the aftermath as the snake whizzed past me, slamming into a nearby tree. I went flying to the ground and landed, hard. The air rushed out of my lungs and I broke into a coughing fit as Orochimaru's voice called out to me from above.

"With as much time as you've spent together, one would think you'd have at least some sort of idea about him."

I pushed myself onto all fours, my harsh cough making my chest ache.

"But you've barely scratched the surface haven't you? Why don't I tell you about him then?"

One of the snakes dove for me again and I dodged it, barely. It was huge but fast, faster than I had expected. Which meant I needed something a little bit stronger than measly kunai. I was fumbling through the tiny scrolls in my weapons pouch, searching for just the right one as the other snake came up on my right, it's mouth opening as a warning hiss slipped out.

"There's a rage inside of him." Orochimaru began, leaning against the tree he was standing in. "Dark and blistering and…beautiful. It's what gets him up each morning, what pushes him forward each day. His main goal is what I thought you wanted at first, after what happened to your family, your parents, your little sister…little Sayuri."

I flinched at the mere mention of her name, an emotion shooting across my chest. Suddenly she was in my head, my baby sister reaching for me, her laughter ringing in my ears. I could feel the hot tears gathering in my eyes and when I blinked it was over and the only thing coming toward me was an open-mouthed snake. I jumped up, dodging it and watching as it slammed into the tree that had been behind me and knocked it over. But I didn't see the snake tail on my left and it hit me sending me back to the ground.

"He wants revenge." Orochimaru growled. "He wants to make his brother pay and who would I be to ignore his desire? He knows the way he is, that he won't stand a chance against him, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get that power."

I coughed and looked up at him. He stood confidently above, still with his amused smile, his eyes bright as they took me in. His face was smooth and taut underneath the Rain woman's skin.

"People can change." I managed, sweat dotting my forehead. "He'll realize that he doesn't need the power you can give him."

"No my dear," Orochimaru chuckled. "You mean power I've already given him."

My eyes widened as I pushed myself up, my hands on my knees. "Wh-what?"

Orochimaru chuckled and ran a hand through his long hair. "Sasuke boy will seek me out, will desire the power only I can give him. That's inevitable, Miyuki my dear."

"No!" I growled.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "It's too late."

A dark shadow appeared above me and I looked up only to see the two snakes throwing themselves toward me. I pulled out one of the scrolls and barely glancing, unlocked it and slammed my hand at the center of it, summoning it. As the snakes neared me, I stood on top of my summoned weapon, a Jidanda, an iron ball with spikes covering it. I gripped the handle in my fists and back-flipped off of it before pulling it along, making sure to dodge the twin snake attack.

When both snakes landed, I jumped up, swinging the massive weapon high above my head before attaching a spike to the end of it. I swung it back down toward the snakes who were starting to rise and it slammed onto their heads, sending them back to the ground before it exploded on top of them, blowing their heads to pieces. The sharp winds and flames from the blast sent me back, but I managed to land on a tree branch across from Orochimaru. I was panting, my brows pulling together.

"Wh-what did you-you do to him?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

A snarky smile spread over his lips along with his tongue which rolled out, long and lean ,to wipe at his mouth. "I granted his wish."

I didn't want to believe it, to believe him. I wanted him to burst out laughing, tell me I was a fool for even considering his words. But he was dead serious, and the sad part was that I knew him well enough to know that at least.

"You're a monster." I growled.

He chuckled in response before shooting his tongue toward me. I lifted a fist and it wrapped around it, pulling me forward sharply. I tried to pull in my own resistance but it was futile and there was no sense in pulling when he had an iron grip. I pulled out a kunai and swiftly cut his tongue off my wrist as my body slammed against his tree's trunk and I groaned while falling back.

"It's funny." He called before I heard the sound of something falling from above and the soft crunch of grass as whatever it was landed a few feet away from me. His hand came down, pulling me up by the front of my shirt before slamming my back against the trunk.

"People used to say the same thing about you." He growled, his voice filled with venom. I shivered, my eyes wide being as close as I was to him. Just staring into his eyes was enough to make my insides quake, and staring into his eyes flew me back to the past where my jumbled and fuzzy memories collided into what felt like one terrible nightmare.

"And soon…" Orochimaru chuckled, his slit pupils dilating. "They'll say the same about our beloved Sasuke."

I could hardly breathe. His hand came down on my neck and I screamed, a gut-wrenching, all-consuming scream as a fiery, intense, and sharp pain filled my body. It made my eyes roll to the back of my head, my body tremble and it grew worse by the minute because the seal was breaking and once it broke…once it broke...

I could see Sasuke in my head, the shock in his eyes as he realized what was being transferred into his body was worse than poison. As Orochimaru's teeth would pull away from his skin, the mark would rise to the surface and with it would come the first round of sharp pains. But, what came after that would involve his survival. The one in ten survival rate, the countless others before him who had received the mark and had died, the mark consuming them and either killing them as they went through it, or forcing them to kill themselves.

"Sasuke will come looking for me, seeking the power he so desires." Orochimaru said, his head lowering to my ear, his hand sliding down to my throat. "And I'll tell you the same thing I told that girl as she watched him squirm and cry out."

I could imagine poor Sakura then, her green eyes wide as she watched Sasuke cry out, watched the mark begin to seep its dark aura. I could see Naruto lying somewhere on the side and knew, knew that if he had been awake, Sasuke wouldn't have been marked. Naruto would have blocked it somehow or better yet, Naruto would have unleashed some of his Jinchūriki powers and ended Orochimaru right on the spot. But he wasn't there and Sakura…Sakura was all alone now, unsure what had been done to Sasuke and unsure if Naruto would be awake in time to help her fight in the Forest.

And as for us…we had failed…again.

He released me and I fell forward, Orochimaru's voice following me down.

"And there's nothing you can do about it."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the support, the reviews, and of course thanks so much for reading! Glad some people are getting addicted and I hope the comments keep coming!