Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone related to Naruto or Naruto Shippuden
Chapter Sixteen
Kakashi was livid. He should have paid more attention. He should have been more alert. Why hadn't he noticed? How could he not have seen it coming?
The ANBU held his hand in a tight fist as he shook his head, staring around Karibi's empty home.
*Five Days Earlier*
A pair of amethyst eyes stared into a mirror, red hair tied into a braid that hung over her left shoulder. There was no smile, as usual, but at least her spirits were a bit higher these days.
Karibi sighed as she glanced down at her sleeveless, dark gray shirt, the collar reaching the middle of her neck. She adjusted the red belt round her waist, her baggy pants matching the color of her shirt. She gazed at herself for a second longer before she turned and walked out of the bathroom, glancing down at Kushito, who sat outside of the door waiting. She smiled softly for a short second before she walked over to the cupboard and opened it, pouring her pet food before heading out he door.
It had been the first day she had gone out. She had hauled herself in her home for so long, she had almost forgotten what Konoha was like. Her nightmares still plagued her during the nights, but she needed something to distract her from that. And so she finally mustered the courage to finally head out and mingle with the villagers like she once had.
Staring up at the sun, Karibi closed her eyes, relishing in the warmth. A ghost of a smile hovered over her lips as she opened her eyes and began to make her way down the stairway. She stopped as she looked back at her home before nodding her head.
It was going to be a good day.
§
"Hayase! Will you quit it!"
"What! You said you were full!"
"What did I tell you two about acting like this in public?"
"Sorry, sensei..."
Hayase and Hana sat across from each other, Riku beside the 13 year old boy. She sighed before chuckling, patting his head before she blinked, looking up to the entrance of the dango shop. She stared before a smile stretched across her face, which caught both of her students' attention.
"Riku-sensei, what—" Hayase stopped abruptly as his eyes widened. Hana raised a brow before looking over her shoulder, and as she found what it was that everyone was gapping at, a wide smile spread across her lips.
"Karibi!" It had felt like ages since the last time the entire team had been together. No one had wanted to push the 10 year old into doing anything she didn't want to do, so they had all unanimously decided to wait until she was ready to come back.
And now, it seemed she was.
Forcing a small smile across her face, Karibi nodded to her team as she approached them. She was no longer wearing her white and brown attire that they had grown so used to, but they didn't care. As long as she was out and making an effort—that was what mattered.
Patting the empty space at the booth they were sitting at, Hana watched as Karibi sat with a deep breath. "How are you?"
"...I'm ok," the young girl said honestly as she nodded, Riku smiling as she reached over and placed her hand on the top of her student's head.
"Well, I was going to head out early for a mission, but there's no rush! How about a round of dango on me?" Karibi glanced up at the woman before she smiled and nodded her head.
"Sounds yummy."
§
Laughter could be heard inside of the quaint dango shop. Team 2 was feeling a bit more whole now that Karibi had returned. The girl had yet to let out an honest laugh, but there were genuine smiles that crept past her guard, and that was all her teammates and instructor could ask for. As they sat, absorbed in their conversation, no one took notice of the slithering creature in the dark corner, watching.
Karibi had been known for her immense amount of chakra. Not only that, but she was one of the only remaining shinobi with a true understanding of fuinjutsu. After the passing of Kushina, whatever that woman had known was passed on to Karibi; she had quite the potential. And as the creature watched carefully, its eyes lingered on the 10 year old as she lightly bumped Hana's shoulder with a soft smile.
The Fourth Hokage had been keen on keeping an eye on Karibi. She had been important to him—almost like a daughter of his own. Everyone in the village knew that. Which was why no one touched her. No one bothered her that knew better or else they'd have to pay the consequences. Now that Minato and Kushina were gone though, there was nothing stopping him from taking what he wanted.
He finally had access to the perfect test subject.
*One Day Later*
She had been training hard. Now that she was feeling a bit more up to it, she needed to get back to her previous strength and work on her stamina. She hadn't trained in a good month now. She had been enveloped by this sadness and emptiness that she didn't have the will to do much of anything. But now that some time had passed, she had decided to let go of the excuse. Training and missions would be good for her. Being cooped up in the same place with all the happy memories that haunted her would only hurt her in the end.
With a few deep breaths, Karibi relaxed, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She smiled at the targets; at least she hadn't lost her aim. She paused after feeling a gaze on her back, and as she looked up to the trees, a wide smile appeared across her lips.
She truly felt like herself whenever he was around.
He hadn't spoken to her since he had saved her—since the night of the Kyuubi attack. Karibi hadn't gone out of her way to find him. At the time, she had been mourning and she knew he was too. But then, after some time, she finally noticed his presence like she always did; like she first had when she had seen him on the bridge. His visits had been far and fewer these days, but the fact that he kept her in mind and watched from a distance made her feel warm inside. And even though the feeling was fleeting, she was grateful to have it at all.
Kakashi sat on a tree branch and watched as Karibi waved before she turned back to her targets and walked over, pulling her kunai and shuriken from it. He smiled slightly before he stood to his feet, pressing his hand against the trunk of the tree he was on.
She was better. She was nowhere near completely back to normal, and to be honest, Kakashi didn't think she ever would be again. Whoever she was when Minato and Kushina had been around—that girl had died with them. But he could see her trying. He could see her trying to pick up the pieces and put them back, and he applauded her for that; she was much stronger than him.
Turning, the ANBU bent his legs to jump away, but he hesitated. He straightened up as he glanced to the thicker part of the forest. He raised a brow as he stared through his porcelain mask; he could feel something. Looking back at Karibi, he watched as the young girl began to gather her things and make her way back to her home. He relaxed at that before he looked back to the forest floor, narrowing his eyes. He then turned and jumped away, just missing a shadow stepping out from the trees.
A sinister laugh filled the silence as cold and ruthless eyes gleamed with mischief.
The time to strike was nearing.
§
She had conquered her sadness. No longer did she feel empty and alone. And that was a relief. Now that she recalled the past month, she had realized just how unhealthy she had been and how depressing it must have been for the people that were still left that cared about her. Still, even though she had taken that step forward, the nightmares never stopped. She was always afraid to sleep. Not only that, but there was something inside of her burning that she couldn't put out. She coudn't find a way to ease the heaviness in her chest.
She was just so angry.
Walking into her home, Karibi stretched as she shut the door. She leaned back against it before she slipped her sandals off, unstrapping her kunai pack and her pouch and setting them down on the counter. At a leisurely pace, the 10 year old walked into her kitchen, but she came to a halt when she heard her cat hiss.
Kushito never hissed at anything.
"...Kushito?" Karibi slowly made her way into her room, where she had heard her pet hissing. She frowned as she carefully pushed the door open, and as she walked in, she flicked the light switch, only find the bulb unresponsive. She blinked, frowning as she tried the light once more; still, there was darkness.
With the light of the moon and the stars, the redhead was able to see her white cat on top of her bed—back arched, tail up, claws out and teeth bared in a snarl. Karibi's eyes widened as she looked around the floor where her cat was glaring; there was nothing.
"Kushito, what's gotten into you?" she asked curiously as she approached her cat, the animal relaxing at the sight of his master. She reached out for him and pet behind his ear, but as she did so, she winced, a sharp pain shooting up her body from her ankle. She quickly jerked her leg away and looked down, her eyes widening; there, on the floor, was a snake.
Opening her mouth to scream, Karibi let her jaw fall open, but as she tried to yell out, her head began to spin. Her body began to feel sluggish and heavy, her vision blurring as her legs grew weak. Within seconds, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her body collapsing to the ground. Kushito growled and hissed and snapped, pouncing on the snake that had attacked his master. The slithering animal wriggled, trying to free itself from the cat's claws before a shadow loomed over them.
Screeching, Kushito jumped away as a foot swung at him. He slid across the floor and retreated into the shadows, watching with a glare in his eyes as the shadow stepped further in the bedroom. The snake that had attacked Karibi wrapped around the intruder's leg as his master knelt down, staring fondly down at the redhead.
"You will be my finest specimen yet."
*Two Days Later*
No one had seen her. No one had heard from her. And no one had wanted to say anything, but they had all been a bit disappointed. They had thought she was making progress. They thought she had finally found the strength to start moving on. But they guess they were wrong.
If only they knew.
Guy sighed as he sat at the wooden table alone with a frown across his usually happy face. He played with the dumpling on his plate as he glanced around at the villagers. Kurenai was currently on a mission, Asuma was somewhere and Kotetsu and Izuma were off goofing around. As for Kakashi, the 14 year old had gone back to ignoring him once more. But at least it wasn't as bad as it normally was; these days, Guy would at least get a head nod from the stoic ANBU. But that hadn't bothered him as much this time around. It was a different friend that hadn't shown her face.
He had thought Karibi had gotten better. He had been so relieved to see her out with Hayase and Hana, and she had even sat down with him and chatted for a bit before she had left with her team. She hadn't been completely back on her feet at that point, but Guy had an optimistic feeling; he had hoped that soon Karibi would be back to smiling completely and laughing again. But then, days had gone by, and no one had seen her. For all he knew, she could have reverted back to closing herself up and locking herself away from others again.
If only he knew.
"Guy." Said young man blinked before his eyes began to sparkle, his eternal rival approaching him with a dull look on his face; nothing had changed there.
"Kakashi!" the ninja in green cheered as he hopped to his feet, excitedly meeting the gray haired ninja. The ANBU smiled weakly under his mask at Guy's enthusiasm as he nodded.
"I see you're lounging around."
"I've been rigorously training, actually, but these days, it's hard to find a good partner," he said as his expression dropped, Kakashi frowning.
He had just returned from a mission. It had been nothing serious, just the simple task of carrying a scroll to the Fire Lord. Now that he had returned back to the village, he was ready for another job, but for the time being, he had to wait.
The 14 year old was doing much better. His nightmares slowly lessened and he was getting longer nights of rest. And although there was still guilt and sadness that plagued his heart, he was doing his best to at least pick up the pieces of what all of his lost comrades had left behind; he was trying for all of them.
"What about Karibi?" Kakashi inquired as Guy frowned deeply.
"No one's seen her." That caught the silver haired shinobi off guard.
"No one's seen her?"
"She hasn't come out for a few days..." That made Kakashi's lips curve downward; that couldn't have been right.
"...When was the last time you saw her?" Guy thought for a moment.
"...Two days ago. She was leaving the training grounds." Kakashi nodded at that. Without a word, he began to walk past Guy, leaving his friend blinking in confusion. The ninja in green turned and watched as the ANBU walked briskly down the road, unlike his usual relaxed and slow pace, and he couldn't help but smile.
At least he could always count on Karibi to bring out the best in Kakashi.
§
Kakashi remained cool and calm as he made his way to Karibi's. Although he had no expression on his masked face, he was feeling anxious; something didn't seem right. He had a gut feeling that was telling him something was wrong, and never was his intuition wrong. That was why he was going to see for himself. If something was truly wrong, it wasn't the fact that Karibi locked herself away again. It was something else entirely.
As the shinobi turned the corner, Kakashi stopped when he saw a hawk circling over his head in the sky. He frowned as he turned his head in the direction of Karibi's home. He looked up at the bird in the sky for a moment, two sides of him pulling his arms in opposite directions.
But this time, he followed his instincts.
Continuing on his way to Karibi's, Kakashi hopped up on to a rooftop, running and jumping. He was going to make this trip as quick as possible before he went off to meet the Hokage; whatever mission the Third had could wait.
As he landed on another rooftop, his eye widened, two fellow members of the black ops suddenly appearing before him. He blinked as they gazed at him through their animal masks, one a bear and the other a bird.
"The Hokage summons for you."
"...There's one thing I need to—"
"It is of great importance that you see him now." Kakashi frowned before he nodded, disappearing without a word.
Just hold on, Karibi.
§
"There is an important matter which I wish to speak to you about, Kakashi-kun." Said 14 year old stood before the Third Hokage, the man sitting at his desk. He glanced at the two ANBU behind Kakashi, the men nodding before they turned and walked out of the room, softly shutting the door as they went. "I'm afraid something has happened to Karibi." Kakashi's eye widened.
"What do you mean?" He hadn't meant to speak out of turn nor did he mean to address the Hokage without respect, but he had been so shocked and so confused, he hadn't even thought about his reaction.
The Hokage frowned before he stood from his desk and began to face the window behind him. "Karibi has always been strong. She had the ability to perform a sealing jutsu when she was just seven," Hiruzen began. "And that was when she had first arrived here in Konoha. We are unaware of what her abilities were like prior to coming here," he explained as Kakashi listened intently.
"When Minato and Kushina were still with us, they had made it very clear to all that Karibi was to be left alone so she could live normally," the Hokage said. "But it seems now that Karibi is alone, there are those who want to exploit her abilities and her chakra." For she had an ample amount of chakra flowing within her body.
Kakashi's hands balled up into fists as he stood in front of the Hokage's desk. His jaw was clenched tightly shut and his one, visible eye was gleaming with the emotions that were rolling around inside of his soul. He had always known that Karibi was different from many of the other shinobi in the village. She was quick and really aware of others around her. And she was well educated in many different jutsu. Having Kushina around to give her private lessons had also given her an advantage as well; there weren't many ninja that had great control over their chakra like Kushina had. He should have realized sooner that Karibi was in a vulnerable place now that Minato and Kushina weren't around. He should have realized what that had meant for her, instead of wallowing in his own self-pity and self-loathing.
"It seems someone has acted upon their desires. Karibi has gone missing." The Third turned to look at Kakashi, the young man's eye growing in size from shock. "I personally went to see her, and when I had arrived, she had already been taken."
"How do you know for sure, Hokage-sama?"
"I had the intelligence department of the ANBU black ops extract memories from her cat. It seems he witnessed the events that took place. We were able to piece together what Kushito had seen, though it was far too hazy to see who the culprit behind this was," Hiruzen stated gravely as Kakashi nodded his head. "...Someone from the Leaf is responsible for her disappearance. I have several of my best shinobi tracking them down as we speak."
"Sir, let me—"
"I will need you when the time comes, Kakashi-kun. I have asked you here because I need you to be patient." The silver haired shinobi frowned as he stood silently before the Hokage. The man looked upon him with a shimmer in his eyes, waiting for the young man to reply to him.
"...Hai, Hokage-sama." The Third smiled as he nodded.
"I have no doubt that we will find Karibi." Kakashi merely nodded, his gaze on the floor.
He hoped the Hokage was right.
§
Not long after he had visited with Sandaime did Kakashi finally make it to Karibi's home. The door had been sealed shut by the Hokage, but he had been able to get in through other means. And once he was inside, he could almost feel the disturbance in the air. There hadn't been any sign of forced intrusion, and there was no sign of resistance on Karibi's part; whoever had taken her had planned everything out perfectly.
The young man stood by the window, slowly making his way towards Karibi's room. He frowned at the empty bedroom; the Hokage had taken Kushito for the time being.
"...I'll find you," Kakashi whispered as he gripped the doorframe tightly. "I'm going to find you."
§
She was freezing. Karibi wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious for, but when she finally came to, her body was numb and she was so very cold. She tried to move around, but metal cuffs around her wrists and ankles kept her from going anywhere. Her vision was still blurry as she tried to pry herself free from whatever was binding her down, but no matter how hard she tried, she was stuck. She grunted loudly as the haziness over her eyes finally cleared.
She was lying on a stone table in a dim room. The walls were made of dirt and there was only one light that lit the dank room up. There was a metal tray of utensils to her left, and that made her heart jump; there was a scalpel and a pair of scissors as well as a knife neatly placed on the tray.
Tugging harder on the cuffs, Karibi's growled. She felt her chakra coursing through her veins as she focused on trying to break her bonds not just with her mere strength, but with her chakra as well. As she concentrated, her eyes widened when the cuffs began to glow with a purple hue; it was absorbing her chakra.
Feeling suddenly tired, the 10 year old tried not to panic, a large portion of her chakra now stolen from her. She tried to keep a steady pace of breathing as she glanced around frantically in the dark room. She shivered before she looked to her right, the entry way to the room leading to an abyss-like hallway. Her amethyst eyes widened when she heard feet scraping against the ground in the distance. She began to tug harder on her bindings as fear began to consume her entirely.
A shadow appeared from the darkness, the yellow light making the pale face of a stranger look even more washed out. A pair of cold and dark eyes stared right at Karibi as she froze, slowly looking up to meet her kidnapper's stare. A fearful expression was etched upon her face as the man smirked, his long and black hair cascading down his back. As he began to approach her, he licked his lips, his tongue thick and pointy; it made Karibi want to gag.
"You're finally awake," the man said with a smile. Karibi said nothing as she lied on the table stiffly. "There's no need to be afraid," the man said as he smirked, his pupils long, resembling perhaps a cat.
Or a snake.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
"...What do you want with me?" Karibi snapped after finding her lost courage. "Who are you?"
"I'm merely a man of my work," he said, his hollow voice making the girl shiver. "I'm only here to make you better—to make you stronger." But even as he said that, Karibi knew better than to believe his lies.
"Call me Orochimaru."
§
She had been lying there for a long time. She wasn't sure how many days had gone by; definitely more than three days had passed.
"Karibi, dear." Shivering at the familiar voice, the young girl remained silent as she lied on the stone table she was cuffed to. She glanced to the entryway of the room as she watched a figure appear from the shadows. "I see you're finally awake."
Orochimaru had been testing fervently on Karibi since he had taken her. He had taken a sample of her blood, and with it, the young girl had no idea what he did. She forced herself not to think about it. Not only that, but for several days he had been force-feeding her pills. At first, she wasn't sure what the pill did. But then, after taking it, she had figured it out.
It locked her in a genjutsu.
The first pill she had taken, she had easily broken the genjutsu without any trouble. And although she had expected her kidnapper to be discouraged by this, she was shocked to see that he was smirking widely. With each pill, the effects grew harsher and longer. They were harder for her to break, and then finally, she couldn't. She was stuck in the illusion until the effects wore off. Sometimes, it would last a few minutes. Other times, she was stranded in a psychological game of torture for hours; the longest she had been forced into a genjutsu had been two days.
"How are you feeling?" He was trying to coax her into talking, but Karibi wasn't going to fall for any of his tricks. So she remained silent, though her will was growing weak.
Orochimaru chuckled softly before he smirked, writing a few things down that he noticed about the girl.
He was trying to master his genjutsu pills. The effects were not as consist as he wanted them to be, and he wanted to perfect them. And so he used Karibi. She was the perfect candidate. She was someone who was strong enough to perform such perfect genjutsu as well as break out of one without too much trouble. And from using her as a subject, he had discovered so many things—not just about his creation, but about the girl herself.
Much like antibodies to a sickness, the girl's chakra worked to fight off the pill's effects. Even while she was unconscious, her chakra kept her from suffering as long as any other person would; she had so much potential for so many other things.
Perhaps she would be the perfect next vessel.
"Before we continue with our work, there are a few things I must do." Karibi narrowed her eyes at Orochimaru as he set his notes down and turned to walk away.
"...How many other people have you taken to experiment with?" Karibi narrowed her eyes Orochimaru looked over his shoulder, stopping in the middle of the room. "Who else have you kidnapped and tortured?"
"Hmm, wouldn't you like to know." Orochimaru let out an icy laugh as Karibi growled; she was too tired to even try and move, let alone escape.
"You're not going to get away with this!" the 10 year old yelled as the man raised a brow curiously. "Someone is going to find me! And when they do, you'll regret everything you've done!" she exclaimed as the stranger stared at her for a long moment. He slowly turned back around, slowly—almost frighteningly so—making his way to the young girl. He smirked as he leaned forward, his pale face far too close for comfort.
"My dear, Karibi," he said quietly as the girl shivered, trying to move away from her kidnapper. "Who is going to find you? You have no one left." And with those simple words, Orochimaru had destroyed the girl's heart entirely.
Even after he had left, tears continued to roll down Karibi's cheeks.
Hello! I am excited to be updating again! I'm relieved that wait time was not nearly as long as previously, though I wish I was able/motivated to update quicker. Still, it's an improvement so that's something to be happy about!
So, we see here that Karibi has finally met Orochimaru. I actually wasn't originally going to add this into the story, but I felt as though it wouldn't have made sense if she hadn't met him at some point. Hopefully whoever is reading this doesn't mind how I wrote this sequence out. This meeting will lead to some important events in the future, which I will not spoil!
Also, for those of you who have been wondering this, Naruto and Karibi moments ARE COMING SOON. I just want to make that clear because I don't want whoever is here to think that it's not happening or that it's not important because their relationship is the basis of this story and a key part of Karibi's life. I just wanted everyone to be able to see where Karibi comes from and how her personality presently (when she meets and begins raising Naruto) is born. I also wanted people to understand why she acts the way she does with Naruto throughout their relationship, because I'm going to openly admit right now that things are not going to immediately be sunshine and daisies between them. If you would like an exact chapter, I can give it to you! It will be chapter 21 when the "arc" of Naruto and Karibi begins. So that leaves five chapters! Hooray!
Anyways, thank you to all who have stuck around this long and who have read this! I truly am grateful that there are people following and favoriting and reviewing! Writing has become a favorite hobby of mine, and I genuinely am happy that you all can enjoy this with me :) Sorry for rambling so much! Hope you read and enjoy!
Reviews:
Kit: I'm happy to see that you enjoyed that last chapter! It was a bit intense, but the feelings Karibi has right now are intense. I'm not going to say much about the future and Karibi and Naruto just because I don't want to spoil anything, but there will be moments, that much I'll say LOL Thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Guest: Hello! And first off, I would like to say, thank you for your truly kind words! I picked up writing as an outlet but I've come to truly love it for more than just that, and I'm happy that you find my writing entertaining! I'm also glad that you can really identify and feel what I'm writing through the characters. I think it's important that when reading you become invested with who you're reading about, and it seems that you've done that with Kakashi and Karibi, so I'm relieved! I hope you will continue to read and enjoy this story! Thank you again!
KF: You are far too kind! Thank you for saying that! I hope that you will continue to enjoy my style of writing if/when you choose to read on! I'm thrilled that you like Karibi. I always give compliments to those who write OCs just because it can either go well or not, and it's always terrifying to create your own character and insert them into whatever world and write about their lives in that world and then have them be completely rejected or something. I really did put a lot of thought into Karibi and how I wanted her to develop in this story, so I'm honestly relieved she's not Mary-sue XD Thank you for reviewing and reading and I hope you continue to enjoy and that my writing will continue to entertain you!