A/N: Day twelve. To all those who reviewed, my heart explodes all over you in a gruesome but loving way.
She's never been all that sure as to how meeting any of the Sannin would turn out, mostly because she just doesn't want to think about it. To her misfortune, she meets the one that she would have rather met last if she could have chosen.
Her first impression is that it's just unnatural to see the snake Sannin look so young, despite the fact that he should be somewhere in his fifties. He looks like he stopped aging somewhere in his twenties, with his hair long and messily tied into a loose ponytail. He slouches, but it doesn't detract from his height that much.
He's also sort of glamourous because of the expensive clothes with intricate details sewn onto them. Really, his entire appearance is quite… striking, as the Hokage once said about her. He's certainly got a reptilian vibe to him, which makes her wonder if that's genetic or it was the result of self-experimentation. If it's genetic, was one of his parents a snake?
She thinks his eyes are the most distinctive thing about him, since markings the colour of mauve line golden irises and slitted pupils. They would be sure to draw people's attention, but it's not as threatening when his eyelids are heavy, giving him a fatigued impression. Of course, they widen when they land on her form.
"What…?" he hisses, his voice that deep raspy type. It surprises her a little, because she was expecting a high-pitched creep voice for some reason or other. His gaze returns to the Sandaime Hokage, his former teacher. "This is the girl the little Uzumaki was referring to?"
Hiruzen nods, almost grave in his manner of doing so. She closes the door, just to be courteous. "This is Haruno Sakura, one of my ANBU operatives and member of Team Yamaneko. Sakura-chan, this is Orochimaru as I'm sure you know."
She nods, then tilts her head as the reptilian man blatantly analyses her. "Here I was hoping to postpone our meeting a little more." is her pleasant greeting, her lips formed into a matching smile.
"It is just as well…" he replies with that same hiss again, because his animalistic nature demands it she supposes. "I was close to coming to a decision on whether or not I should search for you myself."
Of course he was, she thinks with an internal sigh. "Well, then yes I suppose it's just as well that we met now rather than later." she replies, struggling with the decision to walk forward or stay by the door just in case.
Her decision is made for her, since Orochimaru strides towards her anyway. She waits, feeling her neck gradually bend until she feels like she might strain it if kept in the same position for too long. Tall people irritate her, just the slightest.
He amends the vast difference in height by crouching down before her. His gaze starts at her toes, then up and up until their eyes meet. She blinks when she sees the momentary gleam of sorrow dance in his eyes, which are looking at all the other little features of her face and head such as her seal.
"Yes, you do bear quite the resemblance to her. It is almost painful to look at you…" he murmurs, which is not what she's expecting at all. Though she's known for years now that Shion and Orochimaru were associated, but she's never quite known the specifics of how they viewed one another. Were they willing friends or reluctant ones?
Sakura hums, thinking that he does look really tired from the front view. "You mean Naruto's aunt? I've heard that I look like her before." it's becoming a little tiring, but she guesses it's to be expected when she looks like someone as outlandish as Shion.
Orochimaru's blink is slow, then he sighs. "She and I bickered often, but she was one of the very few whom I considered my friend. Her untimely demise has had an unexpected and frankly irritating impact on me." he informs her, reaching up to touch one of her higanbana. She tilts her head, for better access. There's a bitter smile and a small frown marring his annoyingly youthful face.
"That's because I fucked him up in the head, yeah." Shion laughs, apparently unconcerned with the solemnity that the snake Sannin wears like a cloak. "It was the only way I could trust him otherwise, you know?"
That would make sense, Sakura thinks. It would be rather strange and suspicious if Shion had actually managed to bond with all these… spectacular people without subtly manipulating them. But it really makes one think about how dangerous Shion must have been in her lifetime, since she was capable of tampering with just about anyone's mind.
"What was she like?" she queries, glancing up towards the Hokage. Hiruzen appears to be tired himself, resting his forehead against his clasped fingers.
Orochimaru smiles, retracting his hand and actually sitting down. To somewhat match his pace, she sits down and crosses her legs. "She had a peculiar form of speech, one with an abundance of blunt profanity and a verbal tic like her sister. Visual with her hand and body movements, with an impressive expanse of vivid facial expressions. She was the kind to create a melody, then dance to it regardless if others could keep up or not." his smile is fond, and luckily not quite so much like Kakashi's.
That would just be disturbing if the significantly older reptilian man started dubbing Shion as his dead girlfriend. Her stomach clenches at the mere thought.
"There was another side to her…" his eyes slide up to look at the door, though his eyes are glassy in thought. "I had only witnessed it once, but it was though a switch had been flicked. All forms of personality and humanity withered away, just as if she had all but shed that familiar skin to reveal what lay underneath… It is difficult to explain, but in that moment the curtain around her existence lifted and I had felt like I had witnessed what a true abomination looked like.
"It is difficult to define a monster as there are so many definitions… what with those like myself and the Uchiha clan being considered as such. They think us as monsters wearing human skin, when we are capable of feeling pain and being crushed ourselves just as they are. We lack certain common aspects of a compassionate human being, but that does not dissociate us as humans. Since the moment I witnessed her momentary change, I have often wondered if Shion even knew how to feel… Or if she was just emulating emotions and reacting in the way that we expected her to.
"I had wondered if she was even human at all, if there were any parts of her personality that were genuine. I had thought that she would live an obscenely long life, but then she died at nineteen and made me question everything further. Once, she had told me that she might actually be centuries old but then refused to divulge any more information. Perhaps I am irritated and upset that she died because I am no longer able to pester her with all of my queries."
Sakura blinks, unsure on how to digest all of that in one go. She tries, nevertheless, but it feels painful and sickening in a sense. She hears more and more of who Shion was to others, acknowledging and accepting that she wasn't the nicest of people.
Itachi is considered to be a monster. Shisui is considered to be a monster. Shion was too, that was established… but now Sakura hears that Shion might have been in a league of her own, as though Shion was actually an atrocity of a being rather than a child born with unfortunate genetic wiring and raised in an equally unfortunate environment.
She twitches when she hears the low, rough laughter in her mind. Her skin tingles and for the first time, she feels as though she's not safe from Shion. Shion may have hurt her in the past, but it was to increase her chances of survival… She's never felt as though Shion's going to hurt her just because she can, until this moment.
"There's no need to be afraid, jelly bean." Shion assures her, with an ominous tone of tranquillity. "I have no intention of killing you, yeah. So I might have gone through a few more lives than what I told you, but it's not like I can remember them, you know? I just know that pieces of my humanity has been gradually whittled away each and every time I live again. So perhaps I'm not human anymore, but at least I still know how to function and act like one, yeah. Like damn, look at Sasuke and his freakishness."
Sakura feels a wave of calm wash over her, forcing her to relax. It's Shion's doing, but she's grateful regardless. Some part of her feels shame for fearing Shion after everything, whilst another remains apprehensive. Though she does have to admit that Sasuke barely functions as a person.
"I don't have any world dominating agendas or even world destroying agendas, you know? I just have to deal with the fact that I will never be able to rest in the afterlife, forced to live new and exciting lives for the rest of my existence." Shion's voice is too unsettlingly happy, but Sakura feels that there's an undertone she can't quite decipher. "So I do what I want, however I want to whomever I want because I'm bored and people are fun to pass the time with, yeah. I mean, I care… It's miniscule in comparison, but I care."
In that moment, Sakura feels as though she's learned far more about Shion than she ever has before. Her insides are a painful mix of emotions, parts of her awed with others feeling a sense of pity. How can someone stay human after so long, after so much experience has been forced upon them?
"I suppose I still have a lot to learn." she murmurs, looking up and meeting the heavy-lidded but calculative gaze of the snake Sannin. "I thought that I knew so many things, but in reality I truly know so little."
Orochimaru lets out a small huff of amusement, the corners of his lips curved upwards. "I believe so too, regardless of the fact that I am decades older than you."
Sakura has come to terms with the prolonged silences in her head, as Shion hasn't really spoken since that meeting with Orochimaru. She had gone on a solo mission after that, which had thankfully allowed her to focus on something else for a little while. She doesn't often go on them, usually working in teams since her skills combined with her brothers is usually more effective anyway.
But as an ANBU operative, she supposes there will be times when she has to struggle on her own. At the very least, it gives her some space away from everyone even if soon after she's going to be battling with numerous enemy nin trying to kill her.
"You have been quieter than usual of late, Sakura-neesama." Sai comments from behind her, prompting her to turn away from the window of her room to find her brothers by the doorway. Neji is scowling, most definitely because he is worried and displeased with being so. "We are worried."
Sakura feels a tug on her heart and her lips, shifting around on her bed and gesturing for them to come closer. They listen, without hesitation like the good brothers that they are.
"There's just a lot I've been thinking about." she answers, moving closer to them so that she can fall onto Neji. He grunts in surprise, falling back onto the bed. "I had thought my life was absurd, but then I wondered how much it would affect me if I had to live through multiple absurd lives whilst being aware."
Neji does some strange growling sound as he grabs her and forces them to readjust, which then prompts Sai to crawl on her other side and lay down with them. They're warm, she muses with a small smile.
"You'd go insane." the Hyuuga huffs, as if the answer should be obvious. "Everyone in each of your lives would then die in horrific ways like you blowing their eyes up."
She doesn't think he'll ever get over that.
Sai hums, considering. "I imagine it would be quite painful, if you were to keep the memories of each life. All those bonds created, all the pleasant and unpleasant moments. It would become confusing, as you would struggle with connecting which memory to which life and the like. Why have you been thinking of it?"
Sakura turns, so that she's laying on her back and staring up at the ceiling. "I was thinking of ways that would turn you into a monster. Living lives for all eternity with the knowledge that you are is a good way, I think." she replies, before closing her eyes. "We live in a world where death is always looming over us, but many of us believe that we will be able to finally rest once we're dead. How horrible would it be if you were deprived of that? Knowing that even in death you can never rest."
Sai and Neji remain silent, perhaps thinking it over as she feels sleep pulling at her senses. With Shion sleeping more often, Sakura's genjutsu-laced dreams have been absent. She doesn't know how to feel about that yet.
She feels both certain sense of pride and an unsettlement as she witnesses this bizarre scene. It's conflicting, something that Naruto seems to agree with when she turns to look at him. His face is somewhat horrified, but it's like he's not sure what expression he wants to contort his face to. Perhaps it's the morbidly fascinated sort of expression.
"Sasuke's laughing…" he breathes, though it's shaky. Her gaze returns to the Uchiha in question, who's hunched over with shaking shoulders and doing one of those silent laughs that people who aren't Uchiha do. "Why the hell is he laughing? What's happened with the world?!"
"I don't know." she answers, struggling with the options to back away or walk forward and put Naruto's groceries away without being noticed. Too late to choose, Sasuke's head snaps up and she actually flinches back when she registers the horrifying look of glee on a face that's been mostly blank for years.
"Oh, god!" Naruto exclaims, stepping back and using her as a shield. "I am confused and terrified, dammit Sasuke, what the hell's going on?!"
Sasuke's eyes are gleaming with an unfamiliar liveliness, which is really just disturbing because really, what the hell? Then she pauses, daring to step an inch closer to see the red in his sclera.
"Sasuke, are you high?" she questions him, watching as he blinks with one eye then the other. The smile stretching his lips is incredibly dopey, making everything feel so surreal because Sasuke doesn't smile like that. He always skews his attempts as smiling, after all. "Sasuke, why are you high?"
Naruto snorts at the absurdity, leaning against her back. "Oh, my god what?" he chuckles, somewhat hysterically. "What even? Why?"
"Did you bring food?" Sasuke queries with a slur, standing up from the couch and wobbling. "I need food. I'm hungry. Sakura, feed me… Please. I'll love more you." he frowns at himself. "I'll love you more." then he smiles again, happy with the world.
Sakura inhales, but is ultimately unable to stop the painful burst of laughter from erupting through her chest. She feels herself weakening, so she leans against the archway as Naruto continues to lean on her. Soon enough, they fall to their knees.
Sasuke too, laughs as he stumbles over to them and practically collapses before them. "I like when you smile, Sakura." he whispers. "Itachi-nii has given me many photos of your smiling face for me to place on my wall."
No wonder she's never allowed in his room, she realises, before taking a deep breath to calm down.
"Did I give him too much?" an unfamiliar voice booms in question, prompting her to look up and see the giant form of the toad Sannin leaning over them with a wide grin. Naruto kicks at his feet, to no avail. Although, she doesn't know what that was meant to achieve. Pain? Against a Sannin?
"You got Sasuke high?!" the blonde exclaims in outrage for his best friend, who's begun nuzzling her. "What the hell, Hentai-sensei!"
Jiraiya raises his arms in surrender, his grin somehow widening. "Oh, come on. You know it's hilarious seeing an Uchiha get high! Did you know that they're especially susceptible to cannabis?" he reveals, in a conversational manner like it's no big deal giving drugs to the underage Uchiha heir. "They always have the best experiences, if you ignore the few times that they get obsessed over it."
"Wow." Naruto deadpans, pressing his back into her shoulder. Sasuke's hair is in her face, but it's surprisingly fluffy and smells nice rather than hard and spiky from hair gel as one would expect. "You're a shitty adult, you know that?"
The giant Sannin gasps. "Soon-to-be ten-year-olds aren't allowed to swear!"
"Fuck you." retorts the soon-to-be ten-year-old, before he glances at her. "I'm going to get a camera, because this needs to be recorded and I want to see how he reacts later on."
Sakura blinks, before feeling a devious grin take over her face. "You should do that."
When she looks at the calendar in the kitchen, she realises that it's already the next year and she's going to turn eleven in about two months. She glances at the dining table, finding the adults of the household absent as per usual. Neji and Sai are arguing over some kind of food again, she notes.
"What are you doing?" the Hyuuga snaps at her, dragging her out of her apparent melancholy since it would seem their argument is over.
She sighs, before shaking her head and retrieving the milk as she planned. "I'm just surprised how quickly time's been passing by. I suppose I've been losing track of it more since I've been a little stuck in my own bubble." is her answer, putting the milk away. She grabs the sugar from the cupboard, so that her cereal may drown in it.
"Not surprising." Sai comments, wiping food from his face. That's adorable. "For a majority of the year before, you were lost in your thoughts far more than is usual."
"I'll need to snap out of it soon, before I get too careless and either one of you get hurt in the process." she sighs, bringing her bowl over to the table and sitting in the seat next to Sai's.
They'll have to get ready to meet the Hokage after breakfast, since he's summoned them about some long-term mission.
Neji scoffs. "Worry about yourself a little more. Just because you're the designated captain whenever Shisui-taichou isn't, doesn't mean that our injuries are your fault." he scolds her, before he starts glaring at her when he sees that she's giving that particular adoring smile.
"What a sweet and caring otouto you are, Neji." Sai praises their brother, catching the single chopstick aiming for his nose. "It is adorable and very admirable."
Sakura laughs, joining in. "Our otouto is the best otouto. All squishy and gold-hearted on the inside. Like a little gummy."
Neji closes his eyes, then makes a point of focusing on his food when he opens them again. "Such a shame that my 'elder' siblings are so abysmal, surely I deserve better." he retorts, then directs are smug smirk at them as if he's won.
It only makes them laugh, much to his annoyance.
Chapter Word Count: 3,325
Total Word Count: 39,346
Targeted Word Count: 1,667
A/N: So deadlines stress me out, but whatever as long as it's before my midnight. I'm working hard to write every day both for myself and for you readers, so thank you for the support.
I hope the hasty world I've created has not yet become absolute bullshit. That would be sad. I was tempted to get rid of a segment or two, but that'd be gross so you get like three short segments and one long one.
Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.