The initial placement of the seal was barely finished when I felt it closing in.

"Orochimaru, 12 seconds out."

Kakashi stepped closer to where Sasuke was passed out from the pain, the seal just finishing its slow climb up his body.

"Hide your chakra as best you can."

I didn't hesitate, sucking my chakra inwards the way that had freaked out Genma so many years ago, but kept going, matching the vibrations of the chakra inside my heart as precisely as possible to the environment around me. It earned me a sharp look from a whirling Sharingan but Kakashi only nodded as I curled further into a corner behind medical equipment.

There was no more time for communication, Orochimaru stepped into the room. I couldn't help but note that it felt like this confrontation had taken place somewhere else 'originally'...not that I would ever know for sure.

"Kakashi-kun, after all this time, able to handle seals to such an extent. I'm almost impressed." He didn't sound particularly thrilled.

"Orochimaru."

I refused to wince at the lack of honorific, Orochimaru just laughed that strange laugh of his.

"For all that I'd like to know how you did that so efficiently, I have business with that boy."

Orochimaru took a single step forward and the Chidori bloomed to life immediately, a blaze of light and singing ozone. Just on the stinging side of the scent of petrichor, a riot of raw lightning sat in Kakashi's hand. In person, it was beautiful.

"Don't come closer."

Orochimaru just grinned, fangs on display. "Your actions are useless, you know. You place a seal based on will, even a modified one, but he shall bow to the need for power. He will seek me out in the end."

He smirked, turning and disappearing out the door in a trail of silky black hair.

The Chidori flickered before disappearing completely.

"Asuka?"

I allowed my chakra to unfurl, stepping up beside him.

"Here. He's still in the building…under a henge."

"Can you tell me any details?"

"He's on the third level, in a room on the west side…it contains the three sound nin we encountered in the forest. Dosu, Kin, and…another whose name wasn't mentioned. The henge remains true to his body type…I think it's just focused on hiding his facial features and maybe something to mask his chakra? I'm sorry, that's all I can tell from here."

"It's enough. Can you finish this up?" I nodded and he continued, "I need to report this to the Hokage, watch over Sasuke."

He flickered away and I took two deep breaths before moving to Sasuke. He was out cold, probably not healthy since it was the second time today. Even without chakra-enhanced limbs, I was able to bring him into my arms and place him back on the bed. It would take a consultation with a medic for me to know if he was underweight or if my strength training was working. Either way, I made a mental note to feed him more.

I cleaned up the ink that hadn't crawled away as part of the seal, moving the equipment back into place. Feeling restless, I checked the security on the window and found it lacking, placing a few rapid, temporary seals. I was in the middle of setting up a wire trap to cover the window as well when I felt Sai and Ichiyo approaching. I didn't bother to hurry in finishing, they knew my level of crazy. I felt more than heard them enter, waving behind me before tying off the last piece of wire. I hopped down from the wall, approaching the two and looking them over briefly before deciding that Kakashi never told me to keep quiet.
"Orochimaru is in the building under a henge, please remain vigilant."

Ichiyo blanched even as Sai remained as blank as ever. I focused on Sai, grimacing,

"I know we agreed for you to be team leader. I apologize for taking control at the end, it was uncalled for." So much for me not wanting to be in charge.

Sai was silent for a brutally anxious second before shaking his head.

"I would have made different choices than you did, but later, hearing your reasoning, I agree that your choices were the correct decisions. I would have chosen to unseal Naruto-kun. Based on the strange reactions of the jounin and the Hokage I gather that would have been disastrous for some reason. I would have trusted Kabuto-san. But your explanation makes sense, he is not a trustworthy figure."

"But I gave the report to the Hokage, it should have-"

For the first time, Sai was the one to interrupt me. "Asuka, he asked it of you, and you knew details of the events I did not have. I do not blame you for the actions taken today. If I am to continue to be the team leader in the future it may take an agreement on the division of responsibility within the squad. But I am not…unhappy? Angry? I feel no negative emotions about this situation."

He faltered near the end, but it was a beautiful speech for someone as repressed as he was. I beamed at him but before I could reply Ichiyo burst out,

"I'm sorry!" He bowed low at the waist before popping back up, head still lowered. "It's my fault we were too late! I was too slow running, I was too weak to fight the sound-nin, sensei was right! I'm sorry I was useless, I-"

Before I could even begin to figure out how to handle this Sai was whapping Ichiyo on the back of the head, the same gentle gesture I gave Naruto when he needed a manual reset. The shock caused Ichiyo to snap his jaw shut, staring at Sai.

"Perhaps you were useless." Oookay, maybe that was too much emotion from him for one day. "But the situation was not one that required your current skill sets. You think you were too slow? Then we train for speed. You think you were useless? Then we broaden what you can do."

Ichiyo's eyes were brimming with tears as he grinned, "Really?"

Sai nodded jerkily, eyes wide as he looked to me for backup. I resisted the urge to laugh at the two of them, glad I had new information to change the subject with.

"Naruto just woke up."

Ichiyo stood up straight, "I'll go tell him where Sasuke is! And then Sakura!"

He sped out of the room before either of us could speak, leaving Sai to glance over at Sasuke, his shirt askew from where I'd struggled to stuff him back in it.

"The seal is contained?"

"Yeah. Kakashi-sensei sealed over my stopgap measures. He should be fine, now."

"And Naruto? Is Kakashi-sensei going to fix that seal?"

I paused for a second, thinking it over. For all that they had waited in that story from another world, it may well have been because no one had noticed that a seal was placed over that of the Kyuubi's. That Sakura didn't know the original seal existed, and she sure as fuck knew a lot less about seals than she did now because of interaction with me. She may have just thought it was a punch to the gut that took him out, if she cared at all.

"He may, or Hokage-sama. Right now Naruto's seal isn't affecting him at all. It should remain dormant for quite a while. They may prioritize Orochimaru."

Sai nodded, but before he could reply there was a burst of orange flying into the room. I kept on my feet only by virtue of the chakra I sent there to anchor me when I first sensed the approach. "Asuka! What's wrong with Teme?!"

"He's resting, Naruto. What do you remember?"

"This weird lady had a super long tongue and kept talking about revenge and power and she had killing intent but it wasn't nearly as bad as yours when we leave dishes everywhere and-"

"Wait, what?" I couldn't help but interrupt, because that was ridiculous-

"Oh yeah, when we leave random dishes laying around you get scary. This lady was pretty bad, but I'm sure you could take her. Is that what happened? Because I remember she got me in the stomach for killing her pet snake, and then it was lights out."

My brain stalled for a second. Because of course my killing intent would be potent. Killing intent was a monkey-see, monkey-do sort of technique. Kiri-nin had potent KI because they were almost constantly given low doses of it so they started at a higher bar. Most nin learned from a few battle situations or their sensei being a shit. Me? I'd taken the Kyuubi and multiplied it by Uchiha Itachi murdering almost everything he'd ever loved and terrifying the rest of it into hating him, then added my own spin on it. Not to mention that I knew death because I had died. Then I perfected it by making a group of Anbu clean up after themselves when around my apartment. Christ, what sort of eldritch miasma had I been inflicting on these children in their formative years? Yeah, it would give them some sort of immunity to most kinds of killing intent but the trauma-

My expression must have reflected as stricken as I felt because Naruto paused his rant,

"Asuka?"

"Naruto, did I-"

I was interrupted by Sakura bursting in the door next, taking Naruto off his feet in a body slam I hadn't thought her capable of. I forcefully put my latest realization on the backburner but noticed the look Sai was sending me. Of course, I didn't understand what it meant, I doubt he even knew what he was attempting to convey. He wasn't given time to question me because the room filled to the brim immediately afterward. Lee swept in first,

"My youthful companions! We have been wo-"

Tenten slapped a hand over his mouth, hissing, "You idiot, this is a hospital, have some respect!"

His muffled apology was blocked out by Ino shoving her way inside, "Where is Sasuke-kun!?"

Neji filed in behind her, rubbing his side in a way that suggested he'd fallen victim to the fangirl's elbow. Shikamaru came in next, eyes dark and intent as he stalked straight toward me.

"What's going on? Asuma-sensei is telling us that everything is handled, but no details."

I didn't even consider keeping him out of this. For all that my past life knowledge led to stretching a baby brain into pseudo-genius, this was the au natural real deal. I grabbed his elbow, pulling him further into a corner, and let the others swarm the scene Sakura and Naruto were creating, lowering my voice,

"Kakashi-sensei sealed up that nonsense on Sasuke the rest of the way, but right at the end Orochimaru showed up." I ignored his sharp inhale, continuing, "I hid, there was dramatic posturing, and he left the room. I told Kakashi-sensei that I sensed the sannin, but under a henge."

Shikamaru closed his eyes, breathing evenly. "Is he still here?"

"He's still in the building. Do you want my theory?"

"Please."

I ignored the near-desperate tone, speaking as calmly as possible, reminding myself that for all of his genius, he was thirteen.

"Orochimaru is posing as the genin-sensei for that sound team we faced. He's been in the same room as them this entire time, and it was his chakra that shattered my barriers. So long as he believes his disguise is holding then he won't act, and we have more time to plan."

Shikamaru stayed silent for a long moment before nodding, letting a breath out slowly.

"Ino found Team Eight and brought them up to speed about what we knew from the forest."

I tilted my head, focusing slightly, "Is that why they're doing what seems like a perimeter check?"

He snorted, "Probably." He moved a hand to his shoulder, picking up the kikaichu I'd felt there but dismissed as part of Shino's chakra and friendly. "Can you get them in here?"

He answered my unasked question immediately after the beetle flew away, "No offense to them as a tracking team, but your range covers the tower, right?"

"...yes."

"...you can feel the whole forest, can't you?"

I sighed, heavily, "...Shikamaru-kun, I can tell that your father is at the bar on Hashirama Street."

His eyes widened, "That's…on the other side of the village."

"Mmmhm."

"That's not all, is it?"

"I should keep some secrets, right?"

"Not when we're all in danger."

I let out a slightly nervous breath, "...point. If I stretched, I mean really stretched…like a few minutes of meditation? If it was someone whose chakra I was able to become familiar with, not to the extent of Naruto and Sasuke, but…Ami, from our class? If I meditated for a few minutes, I would be able to tell where she was…up to the border of Fire country."
He closed his eyes, breathing for a few seconds. He kept them closed as he asked, "And Naruto? Or Sasuke?"

"...when I really focused, I could tell where they were in Wave. Or at least how far from me they were." And it was only getting easier and easier to do over time. Especially as all the missions I'd been running expanded my mental map of the world.

He let out another breath slowly. Then a deep breath in. Then a slow release. "I'm not dealing with that right now. Right now we know that you can monitor this tower…very effectively. We can update Team Eight, and the rest of us here, and come up with a plan."

I nodded, despite knowing he wouldn't see it, feeling a bit timid from the reveal. "Okay."

He looked up at me sharply, "I'm not angry with you for keeping the extent of your abilities to yourself. They're your own business and we never deployed as a team together to necessitate a full briefing."

I couldn't help relaxing at his words, hating his knowing look.

After a split second of silence, he continued, "Why did you never accept Choji's invitation to dinner?" I didn't even get to protest before he cut in, "Naruto was well-behaved enough to navigate the Uchiha compound, and Sasuke was a son of the clan head. They would have behaved had you asked it of them."

I deflated, just slightly, thrown by the abrupt subject change and doing my best to keep my reaction subdued enough to avoid the attention of the rest of the room. For all that I didn't want to admit things…I did trust Nara Shikamaru, to an extent. So he would get a technically correct answer.

"The Uchiha were wonderful. They were wonderful to us. To Sasuke, they were his family, and to Naruto and I…they were the closest to it that we had ever had. We lost them violently, and through a particularly potent Sharingan genjutsu, Sasuke and I were made to watch it all." I stared at my feet, wondering, how did I explain that yes we were the same age but the boys were younger and needed to be protected, "Those two let me make all of the decisions about everything. Sometimes they still do for some godforsaken reason. If I couldn't handle the thought of entering another compound of smiling faces and wondering if they were next…how could they? How dare I ask it of them?"

There was a hesitant silence before he spoke next, softer this time, "Even before…what happened to the Uchiha. Even then, you didn't accept."

Something inside me snapped, probably propelled by the near-chakra exhaustion and the sheer day I'd had. I looked at him sharply, and oh would you look at that I do have some trauma about this, "Shikamaru, I don't have a name." I glanced around at a sudden noise, using it as an excuse to scan the room and not meet his eyes, "Naruto has always been an Uzumaki. That's a powerful bloodline from Uzugakure that can never be ignored. His name got us into the Uchiha compound, and it's what allowed us to return because he was Sasuke's best friend and Sasuke seemed to want me to tag along. No matter how many invitations were issued to me I was just Asuka, and I wasn't actually welcome anywhere."

I rolled my shoulders, pushing down the surging, childish feelings of abandonment. I was an adult and I was better than this damnit, goddamn being 13 again, with the goddamn hormones to match-. "Team Eight is almost here." I whistled, gathering the attention of the rest of the room and ending whatever nonsense Shikamaru was about to attempt to ask next. Silence reigned almost immediately and I opened the door just before Kiba could barrel into it. Shino and Hinata followed at more sedate paces and I nodded to both of them. As they joined the rest of the group I closed the door, slapping a seal onto it and ignoring the collective intake of breath as stark black lines spread across the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"We are in lockdown. No sound in, or out. Is there information that any of you would like to share before I begin this briefing?"

Kiba shouted, even as he raised a hand, "Yeah, all of the sound-nin smell like snakes! Less than that Anko lady, but still, like, a lot!"

I grimaced, "That's extremely helpful actually."

Neji snorted delicately, "How? How is that information helpful?"

I eyed him blandly, "Because it supports my theory that the 'mysterious Otokage' is Orochimaru?"

The uproar was cut off by another sharp whistle, this time from Naruto,

"Hey, let her talk, 'ttebayo!"

Ease of practice let the lot of us ignore the verbal tic, but they allowed me to continue,

"As of this moment, Orochimaru is within this building," a frustrated flare of my chakra silenced them and allowed me to continue, "The Hokage is aware of the details. Orochimaru is henged as a male of his own general build and attributes, but with slightly different facial features and obscuration of his chakra signature."

Neji scoffed, "And you expect us to believe that you would still know who he was if he had disguised his chakra signature?"

Surprisingly, it was Shikamaru who came to my defense, "The Hokage believed her." The 'who the fuck do you think you are to challenge his opinion' was left unsaid. Naruto broke up the ensuing silence,

"Ne, so what about Orohema? He's a kage?"

I resisted the urge to laugh at the name butchering,

"We have reason to believe that he's in charge of the Sound village, or at the very least allied with them. That said, we're not supposed to know that. So, discretion is key. We can treat the sound village like an enemy because they're an unknown foreign village, but for now, we shouldn't mention Orochimaru at all. The Hokage has a plan to deal with him, and we shouldn't get in the way of that."

Ino huffed, loudly. "If we know where he is, and who he's pretending to be, shouldn't we attack?"

I shook my head adamantly, "No, Ino-chan. Do you remember what I said, about war games and appearances? Right now we don't want other villages to know that one of our infamous rouges can just walk in and out of our borders as he pleases. On top of that, we have no idea if the foreign forces present would side with him just in a bid to see us weakened. That's why I doubt the Hokage will stop the exam."

Naruto protested, "Why can't the old man could just kick out all the sound guys?"

"Naruto, he has no proof. There is the word of a few genin, and yes Kakashi-sensei saw Orochimaru, but what Kakashi-sensei saw doesn't link him to the sound village. What we, as Genin saw, does. At best this is Genin getting too stressed from the exam and overreacting. There is no way to excuse canceling the exam in an international theater. For now, our best bet is to stick together and persevere."

The heavy silence was broken almost before it could form, Lee thrusting a fist into the air,

"Then we shall band together and weather this storm through the power of our youth! The urgh-"

He was cut off abruptly by Tenten pulling him down by the back of his collar, sighing.

"He's not wrong. We do all know what's going on, we can have one another's backs."

A murmur of agreement went around before it was broken by Sasuke, sitting upright in his hospital bed. "What the fuck is going on, here?"

.

Coming up on a crossroads in the different plots I have theorized, no idea which way the wind will blow, so updates may be slow (not like, years in between chapters slow, sorry about that again). Reviews give me life!
~TimeLordOfPie