Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Darkness ❯ Losing Hope ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: shattered-words 
Meetings take place in secret and trying to establish some sense of hope.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.29.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 137 | Status: Work In Progress
Meetings take place in secret and trying to establish some sense of hope.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.29.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 137 | Status: Work In Progress
Glimpses of Darkness
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it’d be called ‘Gaara’. So, isn’t it a shame that I don’t own it? (The quote is by Lord Michael V. Bacon)
Summary: The Kakurezato are on the brink of war and certain events leave several lives hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, what’s the fire wielder’s fate, and who is the deadly Oto Oinin that has suddenly appeared? (AU, Sequel of “Glimpses of Fire”)
AN: Don’t ask me about the ending, but I felt that the men died so quickly that they needed a bit of...story time, lol This chapter had already been written, but I was just waiting to connect it with the beginning of the story. I love this chapter for one reason but I’ll let you decide or try to figure out what that is. I hope you enjoy and please...review!! PS: Thanks for everything Shadows, without you I would have never gotten this far. This one’s for you.
They were at opposite ends of the alley and moved toward one another with purpose and no noise to make their presence known. As they got one foot away there was a hushed conversation that took place. “Any news?” asked the first figure, identified as male by the voice.
The one being addressed nodded. “Itagaki-san and your sister have received a letter from a source outside of Suna,” the person muttered, and the voice also indicated that it was another man. He crossed his arms and glanced back the way he had come, as if making sure they weren’t being heard or followed.
“Outside of Suna?” the first one asked, his tone troubled. “Do you know anything of the contact? Or how they relay news to one another?”
The second male, now identified as ninja by the hitai-ate they donned, shook his head and glanced back at him. He had long black hair and his head band was worn around his neck, and there were bandages over his eyes which gave the impression of blindness. He had on dark green pants and a short sleeved white shirt.
His companion had on black pants and a dark red shirt that looked black in this light, and over that was his flak vest. The hitai-ate was tied off so it faced the left side of his head and around his throat there were bandages that came up to his chin. His short, spiky black hair moved slightly in the breeze that had picked up.
“Iie, they aren’t being forthcoming on that particular information, but I do know of the contents of the letter.” He quickly relayed the information in hushed tones. “The letter was only signed by the code name Kitsune.”
He nodded and sighed. “Then for now all we can do is continue to watch and help them where we can,” he muttered. He frowned and turned away as he made his way to his side of the alley. It would be wise to let his sensei know of this, but not the council. There were those within the Suna Council that he didn’t trust and one was Itagaki Hiroaki.
“Hai, Taicho,” the second figure muttered.
“I’m not,” he corrected almost immediately, pausing in his silent stride to the end of the alley. The moon’s pale light lit up his figure and he was identified as Erizawa Ryohei as his blue-green orbs peered into the darkness in front of him.
The second ninja had also started to move in the opposite direction and he was revealed to be Kuroboshi Aiko. He had stuffed his hands into his pants and walked as if he could see past the bandages covering his eyes. “You will be. Konbanwa,” he replied before he disappeared as if he’d never been there.
Ryohei hadn’t turned around and now he lifted his handsome features toward the darkened heavens and the pinpricks of light showing through the blackness. Then he too disappeared, leaving no evidence of his presence.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The black eyed teenager frowned as he followed the gray haired ninja. It had been surprising to find Yakushi Kabuto here, and knew that he was a spy. He realized that he was the reason Orochimaru had been able to plan that invasion so perfectly, and get that many troops inside the walls of Konoha.
Sasuke had arrived in Otogakure two weeks previous and he had been entertained by the snake and trained right away. Although, this wasn’t the true reason he was here, the Uchiha would take advantage of the training to get stronger.
Orochimaru believed that he was here as a mindless idiot only bent on his older brother’s demise, but Sasuke wasn’t anything of the sort. He had been briefed on an S-class secret when he’d demanded of the Hokage the truth about the murder of his family. Itachi had been away on a mission when the Uchiha Ichizoku had been slaughtered and he’d returned to the horror of realizing he’d lost everything.
Sasuke had suffered when he tried to imagine how his sibling had taken the news that not only had he lost his parents, but that his younger brother thought he had killed them. He knew all the details of what had happened almost five years ago, and that who ever had wrought such destruction had taken away Itachi’s brother as well even if Sasuke had lived.
The Godaime had told him that at the time the Sandaime had believed Orochimaru had something to do with it. More than likely, he had murdered them all. Sasuke himself didn’t doubt that since he had seen the cruelty of the snake in the small amount of time he’d been here.
Now, he was confused as to why Kabuto was leading him toward the dungeons this early in the morning when Orochimaru was attending to other business in Oto. However, it seemed he was about to find out as they paused in front of a bolted metal door.
Kabuto unbolted it and opened the dungeon but only stepped away so the black haired teen could enter. Sasuke frowned and peered into the darkened prison cell. He was assaulted with the stench of blood, human waste and sex that these rooms always had.
He frowned and stepped inside. It was obvious that the waste and scent of sex was days old, but the blood was fresh. Also, he noticed the remains of a body in the corner and the smell of rotting flesh days old reached his nose. Sasuke fought the urge to puke and moved more into the room without fear. Kabuto knew better then to anger Orochimaru by trying to harm him.
The Sharingan user froze as he saw a figure chained to the wall, unconscious and battered. His knees buckled beneath him but he fought to control himself as he saw whom it was. ‘Eizan.’
He noticed that the shackles keeping her in place had been recently added, and he saw signs that the girl had tried to break them by the bruises and scrapes over her hands and arms. Sasuke let a mask of indifference fall over his features as Kabuto followed him into the cell. The raven haired male had also seen that Arisa had started to stir. He wanted to say something to the kunoichi to reassure her, but he didn’t dare lest he blow his cover.
Sasuke saw her eyes flutter open and find him first. He saw a flare of hope light up her blood-rimmed coal black orbs, but then they flicked to Kabuto. The Uchiha would never forget her tortured expression as her gaze moved back to him and as the last hope died from her eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The terrain had not been disturbed in a long time, as his inspection determined and the cave was dark, so he knew that it wasn’t likely that he’d be disturbed. He’d also secured the area with many traps, so any that neared wouldn’t live long enough to realize they’d perished.
He removed his milky white ring from his right hand and replaced it on the same finger of the opposite hand. His Akatsuki tattoo pulsed and he formed seals as he astral projected so he could meet with the Leader and the other members.
“Report on the status of your mission,” the darkened figure of the leader instructed. One by one they complied, starting with the oldest team.
“No progress yet with the bird of fire,” he reported when it was his turn. He was alone like Zetsu, since he had killed his partner when his patience had been pushed too far. The leader had allowed him to remain within the organization despite this, but he hadn’t assigned him a new teammate, which was fine with him.
It was inevitable that he wouldn’t have any patience with another human being, since that’s the reason he’d become a Nukenin. Since an early age he’d been labeled a genius, but as with all those in his situation, he’d felt that his Genin team and instructor were weak and only held him back. The Jonin hadn’t been pleased by the insult and had slapped him. He’d been found murdered in his apartment the next morning.
The Genin wasn’t suspected until he was a Chunin, and after two more Jonin and a proctor of the exam had died. They’d brought him in for questioning, but he’d been ready for them.
He had no problem cutting through the chakra draining nets and then he’d slit the guard’s throat with the same razor blade. Then he had placed various exploding notes around the interrogation room, and had escaped by way of a trap door through the floor.
When the notes had ignited he’d been several hundred feet away and while the tunnel had shuddered, he’d been able to get out of it before it ultimately collapsed. He had managed to slip past the ANBU and Oinin undetected thanks to all the commotion the blast caused.
Shortly after, he’d met with the leader and the man had taught him everything he knew. He had officially joined the Akatsuki two years later at the age of thirteen and by that time Uchiha Itachi had been in the organization for several months.
When he had joined the leader had been contemplating putting him with the Konoha prodigy, since they had the potential to be the two strongest members. However, in the end he’d been paired with Orochimaru so the Sannin could show him the ropes. The former Leaf-nin had believed him to be blind and had demanded that he be reassigned to the Uchiha, but he’d already been placed with Kisame.
Finally, the snake had been moved but they’d placed him with Akasuna no Sasori. He’d gotten another partner, who had been a new addition to the Akatsuki, but he had died within two months.
He formed a single seal when the briefing had ended. “Kai,” he muttered quietly, in his usual airy, emotionless voice. Everything besides the stone walls of the cave faded and he turned to leave but paused as the leader’s words came to him.
‘Beware of joukai no hikuro, Minoru-san,’ he had warned before giving him the assignment. ‘The biju with more than five tails are extremely dangerous. Even you will find yourself in great peril facing them.’
Eniwa Minoru frowned slightly as his gaze shifted to the light blue heavens as he left the cave, but one wouldn’t be able to see this. In the daylight his pupil and iris faded and his eyes became completely and unnervingly white. At night he activated his dojutsu to see in the dark, but they still remained blank.
It changed to a golden color all around when searching for chakra residue, which made it easier to track down the fire bird since he sensed the heat from it. If it happened to use any of its chakra, then his eyes would shift automatically golden since it had a very distinct signature.
However, he’d lost the trail after venturing to Konoha. It was a tricky creature that had eluded him for several months. He would’ve had an easier time finding it if he knew what the jinchuriki looked like, but not even the leader knew.
Minoru had to start looking for it from where it had last been spotted around Takigakure, and that hadn’t been easy for him. The chakra was so strong that traces of it had still been soaked into the soil, and he had tracked it to Suna. Then it had branched out to Konoha where he’d found a large concentration of it. Some of it was more recent than other areas, but it was constantly moving.
It had been dormant for a few years but the more recent chakra might suggest that it had changed hosts by the amount of chakra released and then it had changed. Since then he had followed the most recent trail of chakra and he’d wound up back in Konoha and it had faded. He had followed the other trails but had found nothing so far, but now he’d know if this person used the chakra.
A few days ago he had sensed the flare of energy but it hadn’t been enough to give him a definite location. There was also something that had prevented most of the chakra from being known. He was sure that the jinchuriki either knew it was being tracked, or it was surrounded by a village that was guarded by something that prevented anyone from sensing chakra on the outside.
Minoru, better known within the Akatsuki as ‘Mayonaka kuki’, left the surrounding area. He headed south-west from his current location since it was likely the vessel was in that direction, or would be. After all, the bird would eventually require more heat than the human’s body could produce, and what better place to acquire it than the jinchuriki’s birthplace.
“Sunagakure it is,” Minoru muttered. A small smirk lifted his lips but his eyes were like cold, sharp knives.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Arisa inhaled sharply as she managed to get her right wrist free. It hadn’t been easy and the tears on her flesh and the bruises were witnesses of that fact. She quickly dug her nails into her forearm and pressed down hard until she broke the skin. The blood pooled around the small hole that she made and stained her fingers as they felt something hard.
She gripped the foreign object and pulled as she clenched her teeth and tried to keep from crying out. When she finally managed to get it out the object was revealed as a bloody senbon that had been imbedded into her left forearm.
The Ashikaga wasted no time as she picked the lock of the other shackle and when it came open she bent down to unlock the ones holding her legs. When her feet touched the ground, she swayed and had to grab onto the wall to keep from collapsing.
Her limbs were sore as she crept to the door and leaned heavily against the wall beside it. She waited since soon the guard that brought her breakfast would come. He came at exactly 8:00 am, and judging by the spill of light coming from the window, he would come in another ten or fifteen minutes.
This was her best bet to escape since that sadistic bastard came from noon to dusk, and then that reinforced door wasn’t opened until the next morning. She didn’t have to suffer through all this torture if she only swore loyalty to Orochimaru, but she’d rather die then do that.
Arisa had almost given in under the weight of her overwhelming despair as the days stretched into weeks. To tell the truth, she didn’t even know how long she had been here. It was an endless amount of days that only ever brought more blood and pain, and yesterday...
She winced and clutched her shirt over her heart but quickly shook her head. Her stiff fingers formed seals and made a bunshin appear where she should be while she flattened herself against the wall. The black hair was long and unkempt, filthy and fell over her face in clumps. It was a simple clone but if she was lucky then the guard wouldn’t notice. If it was someone like Kabuto then she was screwed, but she doubted that he’d be here so early.
The sound of footsteps brought her to attention and she clamped her dirty hand over her mouth to lessen the sound of her breathing. Her chakra was too depleted for her to use any type of cloaking jutsu, and she didn’t have anything to cover herself with anyway.
She heard the guard open the window and peer inside. Her bunshin lifted its head to look at him through its hair. The clothes it wore were the ones she had on, and they were nothing but rags that barely covered her battered body.
He closed the window and something akin to panic gripped her, but a moment later the door was unlatched and opened. When he stepped in with the tray in hand she lunged at him. The bloody senbon was driven through his temple with no remorse, and she quickly twisted it.
As his corpse crumpled to the ground she caught the falling tray and cup of water. She paused to breathe in, but knew that she didn’t have much time as she put her fatigue to the back of her mind.
Arisa set the contents down and relieved the Oto-nin of his weapons and what supplies he had. She swallowed a protein and a de-toxin pill since the food they had been feeding her had been drugged with something that weakened her.
She stripped the ninja and slipped his clothes over the rags she wore since she had no time to remove them. Besides, parts of the cloth had stuck to wounds and if she pulled them off they might open up recently healed injuries. She was only grateful that the guard hadn’t been that much taller than her.
Arisa winced and placed a hand against her abdomen. Kabuto had healed her ribs only enough to save her life, but they were still sore enough to hurt whenever she lifted her arms. It seemed it was his way to keep her from getting away, but she wouldn’t allow that to stop her. She knew that if she was caught this time it would be worse, and that’s why she had to escape at all costs. She didn’t know how much longer she could with stand his torture before caving to death.
When she exited the cell, she made sure to use the dead ninja’s cloth mask and then she locked the door and walked out with purpose in her stride. She pretended to have something important she needed to do and hurried past anyone she saw. It was going well until an Oto-nin hurried over to her.
“Ishida-kun,” he called with a smile on his rugged features. She waved him off and turned the corner, but he wasn’t deterred so easily. “Matte, Ishida-kun!”
She slipped into the closest door she found to hide. Her eyes widened as she realized that she’d entered a storage closet and there were no windows. A shiver went through her as the door opened behind her.
“Ishida-kun?” the man asked with amusement. “What are you doing in the-” He stopped mid-sentence as she turned to face him. Her eyes were the first thing he noticed, since the blood red color had darkened and expanded slightly. “Who the hell are you?”
The kunoichi pulled out a kunai and assumed a fighting stance, but she doubted she’d beat him in her current condition. She was still wounded, her chakra levels were too low, and the pill had only given part of her strength back.
He lunged at her and she slashed at him, but he caught her wrist easily and forced the weapon out of her hand. She was slammed face first into the ground as her arms were twisted harshly behind her.
The Oto-nin tore the mask off and frowned. “You’re Kabuto-sama’s prisoner,” he muttered. He paled suddenly and his grip tightened painfully. “Where’s Ishida-kun?” She cried out as he twisted her arm more. “Answer me!”
Arisa whimpered as pain coursed through her arms. “Gomen nasai,” she sobbed. “He’s dead.”
The man froze with shock. “Nani?” he asked as if he didn’t believe it. His lips pulled back in a snarl as he sharply pulled her arm back. There was a sickening pop as her arm dislocated and she screamed as agony gripped her.
A moment later the storage door was slammed open. “What’s happening in here?” someone yelled. The Sound-nin stilled for a moment before he remembered himself.
“The prisoner escaped,” he said gruffly and Arisa could tell that he was holding his anger back. “She killed the guard, but I caught her trying to escape. Help me with her.”
He leaned down to lift her up and whispered something in her ear. “I’m going to make you suffer for Ishida’s death,” he promised as she shuddered.
The other Oto shinobi helped him lift her limp body and she cried out as they jarred her arm and shoulder. “She’s been injured?” he asked with a frown as he looked at him.
He shrugged. “She fought me and I had to restrain her,” he calmly replied, but his eyes dared him to say otherwise. “Must have dislocated her arm in the struggle.”
The shorter man hesitated uneasily but quickly nodded. “Kabuto-sama will want her in the interrogation room.” The other nodded and they carried her off after stripping her of the dead guard’s clothes.
Arisa didn’t try to struggle but the man seemed to intentionally jar her shoulder several times. The pain got to be too much and she passed out.
Her unconscious body was brought into a room with a metal table and she was strapped to it. The taller ninja lingered behind and glanced at the girl. His eyes narrowed as he swore to return and make her pay for killing Ishida.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kogei hurried down the hallway after giving his report to Orochimaru-sama. He’d been instructed to watch the prisoner and make sure she didn’t escape. The Sound-nin had every intention of letting her go and then hunting her down to spill her blood.
He unlatched the door and pushed it open. The cruel smirk that had spread over his features faded when he saw a figure standing inside the prison beside the table. It was dark but he was able to tell that it was a man but couldn’t see his attire too clearly.
The shinobi heard the girl whimper in fear and a moment later the figure laid a hand on the hilt of his kodachi. He identified him as an Oto Oinin a split second before the other lunged at him.
Kogei felt white hot agony for a moment and the next second every thing grew numb and dark. A figure appeared in front of him and he blinked in shock.
‘Ishida?’
His lover smiled at him and took him in his arms. Then everything faded from existence around them.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
joukai no hikuro: lit. “black flame of heaven”
Mayonaka kuki: “stalk in the dead of night”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End, Chapter Eight
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it’d be called ‘Gaara’. So, isn’t it a shame that I don’t own it? (The quote is by Lord Michael V. Bacon)
Summary: The Kakurezato are on the brink of war and certain events leave several lives hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, what’s the fire wielder’s fate, and who is the deadly Oto Oinin that has suddenly appeared? (AU, Sequel of “Glimpses of Fire”)
AN: Don’t ask me about the ending, but I felt that the men died so quickly that they needed a bit of...story time, lol This chapter had already been written, but I was just waiting to connect it with the beginning of the story. I love this chapter for one reason but I’ll let you decide or try to figure out what that is. I hope you enjoy and please...review!! PS: Thanks for everything Shadows, without you I would have never gotten this far. This one’s for you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“The essential thing is hope,
loss of hope makes for desperate people
and desperate people do desperate things.”
~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter Eight: Losing Hope ~*~*~*~*~*~
The alley was dark and the moon’s illumination only served to make it darker. It was late in the village of Sunagakure and the civilians were fast asleep in their beds, and few shinobi were awake patrolling the perimeter. In this particular location, there was only the occasional movement of a stray animal but now two figures appeared.“The essential thing is hope,
loss of hope makes for desperate people
and desperate people do desperate things.”
~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter Eight: Losing Hope ~*~*~*~*~*~
They were at opposite ends of the alley and moved toward one another with purpose and no noise to make their presence known. As they got one foot away there was a hushed conversation that took place. “Any news?” asked the first figure, identified as male by the voice.
The one being addressed nodded. “Itagaki-san and your sister have received a letter from a source outside of Suna,” the person muttered, and the voice also indicated that it was another man. He crossed his arms and glanced back the way he had come, as if making sure they weren’t being heard or followed.
“Outside of Suna?” the first one asked, his tone troubled. “Do you know anything of the contact? Or how they relay news to one another?”
The second male, now identified as ninja by the hitai-ate they donned, shook his head and glanced back at him. He had long black hair and his head band was worn around his neck, and there were bandages over his eyes which gave the impression of blindness. He had on dark green pants and a short sleeved white shirt.
His companion had on black pants and a dark red shirt that looked black in this light, and over that was his flak vest. The hitai-ate was tied off so it faced the left side of his head and around his throat there were bandages that came up to his chin. His short, spiky black hair moved slightly in the breeze that had picked up.
“Iie, they aren’t being forthcoming on that particular information, but I do know of the contents of the letter.” He quickly relayed the information in hushed tones. “The letter was only signed by the code name Kitsune.”
He nodded and sighed. “Then for now all we can do is continue to watch and help them where we can,” he muttered. He frowned and turned away as he made his way to his side of the alley. It would be wise to let his sensei know of this, but not the council. There were those within the Suna Council that he didn’t trust and one was Itagaki Hiroaki.
“Hai, Taicho,” the second figure muttered.
“I’m not,” he corrected almost immediately, pausing in his silent stride to the end of the alley. The moon’s pale light lit up his figure and he was identified as Erizawa Ryohei as his blue-green orbs peered into the darkness in front of him.
The second ninja had also started to move in the opposite direction and he was revealed to be Kuroboshi Aiko. He had stuffed his hands into his pants and walked as if he could see past the bandages covering his eyes. “You will be. Konbanwa,” he replied before he disappeared as if he’d never been there.
Ryohei hadn’t turned around and now he lifted his handsome features toward the darkened heavens and the pinpricks of light showing through the blackness. Then he too disappeared, leaving no evidence of his presence.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The black eyed teenager frowned as he followed the gray haired ninja. It had been surprising to find Yakushi Kabuto here, and knew that he was a spy. He realized that he was the reason Orochimaru had been able to plan that invasion so perfectly, and get that many troops inside the walls of Konoha.
Sasuke had arrived in Otogakure two weeks previous and he had been entertained by the snake and trained right away. Although, this wasn’t the true reason he was here, the Uchiha would take advantage of the training to get stronger.
Orochimaru believed that he was here as a mindless idiot only bent on his older brother’s demise, but Sasuke wasn’t anything of the sort. He had been briefed on an S-class secret when he’d demanded of the Hokage the truth about the murder of his family. Itachi had been away on a mission when the Uchiha Ichizoku had been slaughtered and he’d returned to the horror of realizing he’d lost everything.
Sasuke had suffered when he tried to imagine how his sibling had taken the news that not only had he lost his parents, but that his younger brother thought he had killed them. He knew all the details of what had happened almost five years ago, and that who ever had wrought such destruction had taken away Itachi’s brother as well even if Sasuke had lived.
The Godaime had told him that at the time the Sandaime had believed Orochimaru had something to do with it. More than likely, he had murdered them all. Sasuke himself didn’t doubt that since he had seen the cruelty of the snake in the small amount of time he’d been here.
Now, he was confused as to why Kabuto was leading him toward the dungeons this early in the morning when Orochimaru was attending to other business in Oto. However, it seemed he was about to find out as they paused in front of a bolted metal door.
Kabuto unbolted it and opened the dungeon but only stepped away so the black haired teen could enter. Sasuke frowned and peered into the darkened prison cell. He was assaulted with the stench of blood, human waste and sex that these rooms always had.
He frowned and stepped inside. It was obvious that the waste and scent of sex was days old, but the blood was fresh. Also, he noticed the remains of a body in the corner and the smell of rotting flesh days old reached his nose. Sasuke fought the urge to puke and moved more into the room without fear. Kabuto knew better then to anger Orochimaru by trying to harm him.
The Sharingan user froze as he saw a figure chained to the wall, unconscious and battered. His knees buckled beneath him but he fought to control himself as he saw whom it was. ‘Eizan.’
He noticed that the shackles keeping her in place had been recently added, and he saw signs that the girl had tried to break them by the bruises and scrapes over her hands and arms. Sasuke let a mask of indifference fall over his features as Kabuto followed him into the cell. The raven haired male had also seen that Arisa had started to stir. He wanted to say something to the kunoichi to reassure her, but he didn’t dare lest he blow his cover.
Sasuke saw her eyes flutter open and find him first. He saw a flare of hope light up her blood-rimmed coal black orbs, but then they flicked to Kabuto. The Uchiha would never forget her tortured expression as her gaze moved back to him and as the last hope died from her eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The terrain had not been disturbed in a long time, as his inspection determined and the cave was dark, so he knew that it wasn’t likely that he’d be disturbed. He’d also secured the area with many traps, so any that neared wouldn’t live long enough to realize they’d perished.
He removed his milky white ring from his right hand and replaced it on the same finger of the opposite hand. His Akatsuki tattoo pulsed and he formed seals as he astral projected so he could meet with the Leader and the other members.
“Report on the status of your mission,” the darkened figure of the leader instructed. One by one they complied, starting with the oldest team.
“No progress yet with the bird of fire,” he reported when it was his turn. He was alone like Zetsu, since he had killed his partner when his patience had been pushed too far. The leader had allowed him to remain within the organization despite this, but he hadn’t assigned him a new teammate, which was fine with him.
It was inevitable that he wouldn’t have any patience with another human being, since that’s the reason he’d become a Nukenin. Since an early age he’d been labeled a genius, but as with all those in his situation, he’d felt that his Genin team and instructor were weak and only held him back. The Jonin hadn’t been pleased by the insult and had slapped him. He’d been found murdered in his apartment the next morning.
The Genin wasn’t suspected until he was a Chunin, and after two more Jonin and a proctor of the exam had died. They’d brought him in for questioning, but he’d been ready for them.
He had no problem cutting through the chakra draining nets and then he’d slit the guard’s throat with the same razor blade. Then he had placed various exploding notes around the interrogation room, and had escaped by way of a trap door through the floor.
When the notes had ignited he’d been several hundred feet away and while the tunnel had shuddered, he’d been able to get out of it before it ultimately collapsed. He had managed to slip past the ANBU and Oinin undetected thanks to all the commotion the blast caused.
Shortly after, he’d met with the leader and the man had taught him everything he knew. He had officially joined the Akatsuki two years later at the age of thirteen and by that time Uchiha Itachi had been in the organization for several months.
When he had joined the leader had been contemplating putting him with the Konoha prodigy, since they had the potential to be the two strongest members. However, in the end he’d been paired with Orochimaru so the Sannin could show him the ropes. The former Leaf-nin had believed him to be blind and had demanded that he be reassigned to the Uchiha, but he’d already been placed with Kisame.
Finally, the snake had been moved but they’d placed him with Akasuna no Sasori. He’d gotten another partner, who had been a new addition to the Akatsuki, but he had died within two months.
He formed a single seal when the briefing had ended. “Kai,” he muttered quietly, in his usual airy, emotionless voice. Everything besides the stone walls of the cave faded and he turned to leave but paused as the leader’s words came to him.
‘Beware of joukai no hikuro, Minoru-san,’ he had warned before giving him the assignment. ‘The biju with more than five tails are extremely dangerous. Even you will find yourself in great peril facing them.’
Eniwa Minoru frowned slightly as his gaze shifted to the light blue heavens as he left the cave, but one wouldn’t be able to see this. In the daylight his pupil and iris faded and his eyes became completely and unnervingly white. At night he activated his dojutsu to see in the dark, but they still remained blank.
It changed to a golden color all around when searching for chakra residue, which made it easier to track down the fire bird since he sensed the heat from it. If it happened to use any of its chakra, then his eyes would shift automatically golden since it had a very distinct signature.
However, he’d lost the trail after venturing to Konoha. It was a tricky creature that had eluded him for several months. He would’ve had an easier time finding it if he knew what the jinchuriki looked like, but not even the leader knew.
Minoru had to start looking for it from where it had last been spotted around Takigakure, and that hadn’t been easy for him. The chakra was so strong that traces of it had still been soaked into the soil, and he had tracked it to Suna. Then it had branched out to Konoha where he’d found a large concentration of it. Some of it was more recent than other areas, but it was constantly moving.
It had been dormant for a few years but the more recent chakra might suggest that it had changed hosts by the amount of chakra released and then it had changed. Since then he had followed the most recent trail of chakra and he’d wound up back in Konoha and it had faded. He had followed the other trails but had found nothing so far, but now he’d know if this person used the chakra.
A few days ago he had sensed the flare of energy but it hadn’t been enough to give him a definite location. There was also something that had prevented most of the chakra from being known. He was sure that the jinchuriki either knew it was being tracked, or it was surrounded by a village that was guarded by something that prevented anyone from sensing chakra on the outside.
Minoru, better known within the Akatsuki as ‘Mayonaka kuki’, left the surrounding area. He headed south-west from his current location since it was likely the vessel was in that direction, or would be. After all, the bird would eventually require more heat than the human’s body could produce, and what better place to acquire it than the jinchuriki’s birthplace.
“Sunagakure it is,” Minoru muttered. A small smirk lifted his lips but his eyes were like cold, sharp knives.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Arisa inhaled sharply as she managed to get her right wrist free. It hadn’t been easy and the tears on her flesh and the bruises were witnesses of that fact. She quickly dug her nails into her forearm and pressed down hard until she broke the skin. The blood pooled around the small hole that she made and stained her fingers as they felt something hard.
She gripped the foreign object and pulled as she clenched her teeth and tried to keep from crying out. When she finally managed to get it out the object was revealed as a bloody senbon that had been imbedded into her left forearm.
The Ashikaga wasted no time as she picked the lock of the other shackle and when it came open she bent down to unlock the ones holding her legs. When her feet touched the ground, she swayed and had to grab onto the wall to keep from collapsing.
Her limbs were sore as she crept to the door and leaned heavily against the wall beside it. She waited since soon the guard that brought her breakfast would come. He came at exactly 8:00 am, and judging by the spill of light coming from the window, he would come in another ten or fifteen minutes.
This was her best bet to escape since that sadistic bastard came from noon to dusk, and then that reinforced door wasn’t opened until the next morning. She didn’t have to suffer through all this torture if she only swore loyalty to Orochimaru, but she’d rather die then do that.
Arisa had almost given in under the weight of her overwhelming despair as the days stretched into weeks. To tell the truth, she didn’t even know how long she had been here. It was an endless amount of days that only ever brought more blood and pain, and yesterday...
She winced and clutched her shirt over her heart but quickly shook her head. Her stiff fingers formed seals and made a bunshin appear where she should be while she flattened herself against the wall. The black hair was long and unkempt, filthy and fell over her face in clumps. It was a simple clone but if she was lucky then the guard wouldn’t notice. If it was someone like Kabuto then she was screwed, but she doubted that he’d be here so early.
The sound of footsteps brought her to attention and she clamped her dirty hand over her mouth to lessen the sound of her breathing. Her chakra was too depleted for her to use any type of cloaking jutsu, and she didn’t have anything to cover herself with anyway.
She heard the guard open the window and peer inside. Her bunshin lifted its head to look at him through its hair. The clothes it wore were the ones she had on, and they were nothing but rags that barely covered her battered body.
He closed the window and something akin to panic gripped her, but a moment later the door was unlatched and opened. When he stepped in with the tray in hand she lunged at him. The bloody senbon was driven through his temple with no remorse, and she quickly twisted it.
As his corpse crumpled to the ground she caught the falling tray and cup of water. She paused to breathe in, but knew that she didn’t have much time as she put her fatigue to the back of her mind.
Arisa set the contents down and relieved the Oto-nin of his weapons and what supplies he had. She swallowed a protein and a de-toxin pill since the food they had been feeding her had been drugged with something that weakened her.
She stripped the ninja and slipped his clothes over the rags she wore since she had no time to remove them. Besides, parts of the cloth had stuck to wounds and if she pulled them off they might open up recently healed injuries. She was only grateful that the guard hadn’t been that much taller than her.
Arisa winced and placed a hand against her abdomen. Kabuto had healed her ribs only enough to save her life, but they were still sore enough to hurt whenever she lifted her arms. It seemed it was his way to keep her from getting away, but she wouldn’t allow that to stop her. She knew that if she was caught this time it would be worse, and that’s why she had to escape at all costs. She didn’t know how much longer she could with stand his torture before caving to death.
When she exited the cell, she made sure to use the dead ninja’s cloth mask and then she locked the door and walked out with purpose in her stride. She pretended to have something important she needed to do and hurried past anyone she saw. It was going well until an Oto-nin hurried over to her.
“Ishida-kun,” he called with a smile on his rugged features. She waved him off and turned the corner, but he wasn’t deterred so easily. “Matte, Ishida-kun!”
She slipped into the closest door she found to hide. Her eyes widened as she realized that she’d entered a storage closet and there were no windows. A shiver went through her as the door opened behind her.
“Ishida-kun?” the man asked with amusement. “What are you doing in the-” He stopped mid-sentence as she turned to face him. Her eyes were the first thing he noticed, since the blood red color had darkened and expanded slightly. “Who the hell are you?”
The kunoichi pulled out a kunai and assumed a fighting stance, but she doubted she’d beat him in her current condition. She was still wounded, her chakra levels were too low, and the pill had only given part of her strength back.
He lunged at her and she slashed at him, but he caught her wrist easily and forced the weapon out of her hand. She was slammed face first into the ground as her arms were twisted harshly behind her.
The Oto-nin tore the mask off and frowned. “You’re Kabuto-sama’s prisoner,” he muttered. He paled suddenly and his grip tightened painfully. “Where’s Ishida-kun?” She cried out as he twisted her arm more. “Answer me!”
Arisa whimpered as pain coursed through her arms. “Gomen nasai,” she sobbed. “He’s dead.”
The man froze with shock. “Nani?” he asked as if he didn’t believe it. His lips pulled back in a snarl as he sharply pulled her arm back. There was a sickening pop as her arm dislocated and she screamed as agony gripped her.
A moment later the storage door was slammed open. “What’s happening in here?” someone yelled. The Sound-nin stilled for a moment before he remembered himself.
“The prisoner escaped,” he said gruffly and Arisa could tell that he was holding his anger back. “She killed the guard, but I caught her trying to escape. Help me with her.”
He leaned down to lift her up and whispered something in her ear. “I’m going to make you suffer for Ishida’s death,” he promised as she shuddered.
The other Oto shinobi helped him lift her limp body and she cried out as they jarred her arm and shoulder. “She’s been injured?” he asked with a frown as he looked at him.
He shrugged. “She fought me and I had to restrain her,” he calmly replied, but his eyes dared him to say otherwise. “Must have dislocated her arm in the struggle.”
The shorter man hesitated uneasily but quickly nodded. “Kabuto-sama will want her in the interrogation room.” The other nodded and they carried her off after stripping her of the dead guard’s clothes.
Arisa didn’t try to struggle but the man seemed to intentionally jar her shoulder several times. The pain got to be too much and she passed out.
Her unconscious body was brought into a room with a metal table and she was strapped to it. The taller ninja lingered behind and glanced at the girl. His eyes narrowed as he swore to return and make her pay for killing Ishida.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kogei hurried down the hallway after giving his report to Orochimaru-sama. He’d been instructed to watch the prisoner and make sure she didn’t escape. The Sound-nin had every intention of letting her go and then hunting her down to spill her blood.
He unlatched the door and pushed it open. The cruel smirk that had spread over his features faded when he saw a figure standing inside the prison beside the table. It was dark but he was able to tell that it was a man but couldn’t see his attire too clearly.
The shinobi heard the girl whimper in fear and a moment later the figure laid a hand on the hilt of his kodachi. He identified him as an Oto Oinin a split second before the other lunged at him.
Kogei felt white hot agony for a moment and the next second every thing grew numb and dark. A figure appeared in front of him and he blinked in shock.
‘Ishida?’
His lover smiled at him and took him in his arms. Then everything faded from existence around them.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
joukai no hikuro: lit. “black flame of heaven”
Mayonaka kuki: “stalk in the dead of night”
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End, Chapter Eight