Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Lost Soul ❯ Within the Snake's Embrace ( Chapter 24 )

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me. If it did I sure as hell wouldn't be back for another year of university! I do get to claim the Yominokunis, Yakubyougami and the Tekigougan for myself though!

 

A Note from Katana Haibane: I've got a (utterly self centered) request / challenge for any reader feeling up to it. Since I'm am utterly abysmal at any kind of visual art I'd like to any anyone who feels up to it to try and draw Yominokuni Mikomi and send a copy to me.

 

Oh, and Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, and every other possible happy holiday! And a Happy New Year!!!

 

Ugh, finals...they were killers. I'm absolutely fed up with my updating speed, but I will promise you right now that I will do my best to get the chapters written. At least the chapters are decently long so as to kind of make up for the length it takes me to update…aw who am I kidding? Taking a month is one thing, but more than a month? Well, enough of my self depreciation session, on with the story!

 

Chapter 24:Within the Snake's Embrace

 

“FUCK!” Kitoushi cursed, his aggression doing nothing to ease the obvious fear and discomfort that the Fire Daimyo's entourage had with his presence, “This can't be fucking happening, this can't be happening…” Kitoushi's eyes were wild as he barely resisted the urge to lift Kakashi up by the edge of his vest and shake him like a rag doll, “Kakashi…you are supposed to be her superior…what the hell were you doing you asshole? How could you…how could you lose my daughter?”

 

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he allowed his killing intent to seep out, hoping to get a reaction from the sallow man in front of him, “You tell me why the hell what you think is any of my concern? You're nighttime meeting with Mikomi didn't go unnoticed. I'm sure that you know exactly what that might mean. So maybe you could tell me who might want to get their hands on Mikomi?”

 

“NOB…” Kitoushi's already pale face drained to a stark white so quickly it looked as if somebody had just drained his body of blood. Absentmindedly, Kitoushi slid a senbon into the palm of each of his hands and slowly bent them out of shape, “He'd want her. Of course…of course he'd want her. Who else would go out of their way to do this? But how…”

 

“Huh?” Naruto blurted out, startling Kitoushi from his reverie, “Who the hell are you muttering about ya bird brain?”

 

“Orochimaru…”

 

Everybody froze. Kakashi. Sakura. Naruto. Even the Fire Daimyo and his entourage stopped muttering and stared at Kitoushi. The name meant different things for each person, but they all had one thought in common: Orochimaru was a poison to people everywhere.

An audible crack and grinding sound echoed across the clearing causing the eyes of all ninja present to zero in on Kakashi. Under any other circumstances it might have been amusing to realize that Kakashi had nearly bitten a hole through his face mask. Not now though. What had once been anger etched across his face had very quickly transformed into horrified guilt. He had grasped what Kitoushi's lone word had meant before everyone else.

 

Kakashi looked into Naruto's and Sakura's face before he spoke, watching disbelief creep over their faces as realization came upon the pair, “Don't you remember? Kami, it should have been obvious…oh hell…this mission was an enormous mistake. Orochimaru wanted her alive! He forced her to be his so-called weapon once, what was stopping him from trying to do it once again?”

 

“Konoha,” Kitoushi's voice broke as the wild madness returned to his eyes, “He couldn't take her from Konoha without half of Fire Country coming down around his ears for daring to breech its walls for a second time. He's not stupid, no matter how much I wish that asshole was, and he hasn't tried to do the same thing more than once in my recollection.”

 

Sakura quickly clued into where this was going, “That second team that Orochimaru entered in Konoha's Chuunin exam! But that's the same stunt that he pulled to get…get Sasuke to come to him…” again, another flash of insight shot through Sakura even as the tension in her gut seemed to be building to a fever pitch, “but he didn't come himself. That team was unusually powerful, even for a low ranked team.”

 

Kitoushi growled as a twang rang across the clearing as he finally snapped his senbon in half, “That doesn't mean a fucking thing though! If anybody from the Villages Hidden in Mist, Clouds or Grass recognized her she'd have more than enough enemies because of that Kami forsaken snake!” Whirling around, Kitoushi took off towards the clearing he had found his tracking device without saying another word.

 

“Dammit,” Kakashi swore before he addressed Naruto and Sakura, “Stay here and guard Daimyo-sama. We need to know what the hell is going on. I get the feeling that he knows more than he's letting on.”

 

Kakashi headed for the treetops to the cry of `Kage Bunshin' from Naruto. It was situations like that that reminded him that sometimes it didn't matter how strong you were, accurate information was sometimes far more powerful than your fists could ever be. Dropping silently into the clearing, Kakashi palmed one of his kunai before approaching Kitoushi. His well trained eye immediately picked up the discrepancy in the disturbances that were usually left behind by a person as they moved through woodlands.

 

“I don't know for certain what Hidden Village pulled this off or if it was Orochimaru himself,” Kitoushi said without looking up from the ground, “but they were an expert. Every single sign of what could have happened has been erased. I'm pretty sure that they could have made it looked as if she had just took off if they wanted to.” He had to stop himself from ripping out a chunk of earth in frustration as he looked back at Kakashi. He felt completely humiliated. For all his strength and ability that secured him a spot on the most powerful organization in existence, he couldn't figure what the hell had happened to his daughter.

 

On the other side of the clearing Kakashi was running his hand along an uneven disturbance on the ground that had looked natural at first glance. It had taken his Sharingan to even pick it up due to the faint residual chakra that permeated the ground where it had been shifted back into place, `This is far beyond the scope of any normal ninja. Even for most Anbu and Jounin elites. Someone very powerful certainly came after her that's for certain. Whoever they were, Orochimaru is one of the few that I know who that has the ability to do this.' Kakashi was so lost in his thoughts that by the time he felt Kitoushi standing behind him he could have slapped himself. He'd made a rookie mistake, turning his back to the enemy, and was lucky he hadn't paid for it in full.

 

“I need your help Kakashi.”

 

Surprise flashed across Kakashi's face for a moment, but by the time he turned to face Kitoushi he had schooled his features to impassivity. However, he couldn't help but twitch slightly when he saw Kitoushi's face.

 

The madness in his eyes was gone.

 

His face remained ashen pale, but it was his expression that bit deep into Kakashi. He had seen that expression in the days following Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. He had seen it in the north when a girl's family had been destroyed in front of her eyes. He had seen it on parent's faces when Genins had been forced into missions that had taken their lives. He had seen it again on the faces of several of the parents who had sons and daughters killed during the Sound's invasion of Konoha.

 

Remorse and despair were etched across the face of a man who was reputed to be nothing more than a hardened killer from the Akatsuki.

 

“Kami…I can't believe I'm asking this Kakashi-san, but I need your help. I can't figure out who took my daughter from what's been left here. I just can't see through this. Please Kakashi…I just want to find her again. I left things far too long last time. I won't fail Mikomi again…” Kitoushi couldn't even feel a twinge of anger as Kakashi remained objectively impassive during his entire plea. He just felt too drained, too frustrated at the moment to be able to feel much of anything beyond his own helplessness. He had failed Mikomi once and it felt like he was failing her yet again.

 

Kakashi just bit his finger, slapped the blood over his palm and sealed in response, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu.” A burst of smoke and chakra later Pakkun appeared.

 

Flipping a paw into the air in a wave, Pakkun stared blandly at the stranger standing behind his master, “Yo. You called for me?”

 

“We've got a problem,” Kakashi said without looking in Kitoushi's direction, “Mikomi's gone missing and somebody covered their tracks very well. I need you to try and pick up the scent of whoever was in the clearing with her. The cover-up job was too well done to be anything but a kidnapping. Cover ever inch that you can because I'm sure that whoever took Mikomi thought to cover up their scent as well.”

 

Pakkun just nodded before burying his nose in the grass to try and identify a human scent that differed from Mikomi's. Her scent remained all over the place.

 

“You claim you need to know where Mikomi is,” Kakashi said as he glared at Kitoushi, “I'm in the same position. She was my responsibility and I got careless, letting her wander so far away from the camp at night. I'll cut you a deal, the only one you'll ever get from me: I'll give you all the information that I can gather on where Mikomi is. I'll let you know when we are going to get her back. I'll let you be part of everything we are going to be doing, even going as far as to try and get you amnesty in Konoha under one condition: I want you to be an insider for Konoha. I want you to give us every shred of information that you can on Akatsuki's inner workings. Only then will I give you even a shred of assistance.”

 

“Wha…” Kitoushi almost gaped at Kakashi for a moment before he was able to stop himself with his mouth half open. Several seconds passed before Kitoushi closed his mouth completely and swallowed hard. He knew he had just allowed himself to make a grave error in showing that much of a reaction to Kakashi's offer.

 

Kakashi allowed a faint smirk to ghost his face, safely concealed behind his mask, “I want your answer now or you can get the hell out of my sight.”

 

When Kitoushi's black blade seemed to just appear beneath Kakashi's chin, Kakashi didn't even flinch. He just locked eyes with Kitoushi and allowed the Mangekyou Sharingan to come whirling to life in his left eye. Kakashi didn't even bother glancing at the blade hovering dangerously near him, “You couldn't kill me. No, you won't kill me because you need my help. If you want to have any chance to get your daughter back then your best chance lies in getting information from me. You can go ahead and take a stab in the dark and search for her on your own, but you risk losing everything again and I you won't take that risk.”

 

“SONOFABITCH!” Kitoushi roared before he spun away from Kakashi and ripped his sword through a tree trunk as if it was made of paper. Keeping a death grip on his sword, Kitoushi chest began to heave in frustration. His position in the Akatsuki was perilous enough as it was, but for a relative stranger to read him that well…it just pissed him off that his self control had been worn so thin.

 

Kitoushi closed his eyes, stilled his breathing and slammed his sword back into its holster over his shoulder before speaking again, “Fine. Fine, you've got a deal. I'll be a fucking insider for Konoha if it can get my daughter back. I'll do anything to get her back. I want to know everything that you've got.”

 

Kakashi nodded towards Pakkun who had was looking expectantly at him from the other side of the clearing, “You heard the man Pakkun, what have you found for us?”

 

“I don't know Kakashi, but it doesn't make any sense to me,” Pakkun said with a shake of his head and pointed a paw towards a broken twig he had stumbled across, “This entire clearing is devoid of the scent of another human being besides Mikomi-chan except for on this twig. I want to get one other thing straight: Sasuke-kun is supposed to be dead right?”

 

That was the last thing that Kakashi was expecting Pakkun to said and it was only his mask that hid his surprise from Kitoushi. He just nodded, waiting for Pakkun to continue.

 

“Then why is his scent all over this twig and more importantly, why is it so permeated with the smell of snakes?”

 

“Oh shit!” Kakashi swore. He didn't need to know any more than that. “Kitoushi-san, we were right the first time. I don't know how that bastard did it, but Orochimaru managed to take control of Sasuke's body. His dead body and the fuck knows how he managed to pull it off. There is no other possible explanation for this and it's the worst fucking situation possible. His strength quite possibly doubled overnight. He's got the Sharingan now.”

 

“The Sharingan I can deal with,” Kitoushi growled as a fraction of his frustration started to fade away, “I know who has her. That's enough for now.” Shaking his head, Kitoushi blew out a breath in frustration, “But we still can't do a thing about it until we know more, not to mention keeping up appearances. I've got to return to Deidara before he starts to get a little too curious about where I've gone off to. He may be my subordinate but that's only because I'm one of the few people alive who can actually deal with that explosive manic.”

 

Kitoushi pulled out a small disk similar to the one he'd given to Mikomi, “This little guy here is one of the long distance communicators that I helped design with our leader, Pain-sama. That's the first piece of information that I'll give you for now. I'll contact you when I've got the chance to give a proper report.”

 

With that said, Kitoushi disappeared in cloud of smoke, leaving Kakashi alone once again.

 

“Sorry Pakkun, you've been a great help but figuring out who took Mikomi is all I needed you for, at least for now.” Kakashi said, dismissing the little pug who too disappeared in cloud of smoke.

 

Kakashi bit his finger again, ““Kuchiyose no Jutsu.” This time a lean form of a greyhound appeared out of the swirling smoke with a small red canister hanging around her neck. Without a word, the greyhound sat patiently while Kakashi quickly scrawled his report onto a scroll before sliding it into the canister at her neck.

 

“Get this to Konoha ASAP. Deliver it to Hokage-sama or else to the Anbu on message traffic duty, whoever you find first. They need to know what is going on out here.” Kakashi watched as his greyhound summon set off for Konoha at a pace that would have put Gai and Rock Lee to shame, `I just hope that Tsunade understands when I give her the full report why I didn't mention this incident with our new insider. Yakubyou…no, Kitoushi can't have any chance to be jeopardized before we get the information we need.”

 

 

“I cannot believe how obstinate all of you are being,” Tsunade exclaimed in exasperation. For the last half an hour she had been stuck in front of Konoha's council for what felt like the millionth time since Mikomi's father had decided to pay a visit to Konoha. “Beyond giving you my word as a medical professional, not to mention the Hokage that all of you chose for this village, my word should be worth enough for all of you to trust. From the day she was rescued from her Sound pursuers Mikomi has been the genuine article. I know what the temporary damage done by the Mangekyou Sharingan can look like as well as the fact that it can heal over time. I've been witness to the psychological trauma that girl has been through and Jounin Yuhi Kurenai has personally born witness to images of Mikomi's past during a mind dive while trying to break a powerful Genjutsu that Mikomi was placed under. I even gave you the complete documented history that I had Hyuuga Shiro record in his efforts to research Mikomi's past. It makes no sense why you continue to ignore this information.”

 

“Maybe it is because of your past records with…children…that you believe have fallen under unfortunate circumstances,” Danzo sneered, speaking for the first time that entire meeting, “You expect this council to continue to trust someone who has continuously allowed their emotions to cloud their judgment towards impulsive action. You befriended the Kyuubi brat and have let him run rampant and with little restraint. You actually sent him on a rescue mission to save another worthless Jinchuriki, the Kazekage no less, and sent him right into the Akatsuki's hands. He should be on a very tight leash, or better yet, should be under my training program to become a proper weapon for Konoha, the only use for those damn demon children anyway.”

 

“Watch-” Tsunade started but was quickly cut off once again by Danzo, who didn't show the slightest shred of respect for his Hokage.

 

“And then there are other instances where you have shown your ineptitude. There have been whole weeks where you have ignored doing all aspect of you job and drank yourself into oblivion at you own desk! You can't even wake up without doing serious damage to anybody near you. You couldn't even manage to keep your hands on the greatest resource this village has had in the last decade when your incompetence allowed Uchiha Sasuke to be coerced from this village!” Danzo shook his grizzled head before he gave a disrespectful leer down towards Tsunade, “Maybe your tits and muscles take up took much brain power to be able to actually think rationally.”

 

Silence fell across the Konoha council meeting like a smothering blanket. All eyes were on Tsunade. Everyone wanted to see if she would rise to the bait that Danzo had so openly laid before her. And it was working.

 

Tsunade's face flashed white with shock and then crimson in barely suppressed anger. Despite what Danzo thought of her she was nobody's fool even when she wanted rip Danzo's remaining arm off for such a comment. Her hands were clenched so hard that a her fingernails caused her left palm to start to bleed.

 

“I have no idea what stories you have been told,” Tsunade said through gritted teeth, “clearly you can't tell fact from fiction and you are so set in your ideas that they will not change no matter what I say. Fact is, Sasuke left of his own accord, he deserted the village for personal gain. He was not captured. He was not force. He was not blackmailed or threatened in any way. He just left. As for everything else-”

 

The sound of a commotion outside the council room doors cut Tsunade off again that night and was quickly followed by a bang when they were thrown open. An Anbu wearing mask that was painted with crisscrossing red slashes strode into the room and held out a small red canister to Tsunade.

 

She accepted it with a nod, “Thanks Naiki, now get back to your post.”

 

The Anbu nodded and strode back to the doors he had thrown open and pushed the door closed behind him, leaving a slight crack open.

 

Tsunade quickly pulled scroll from the canister and easily recognized Kakashi's hurried scrawl.

 

A problem has arisen on route to Daimyo-sama's sixth stop in Rain country. Mission isn't jeopardized, team is. Mikomi has disappeared, evidence of Orochimaru's presence has been found. Capture suspected. Request immediate investigation regarding situation or relief team sent to our location to begin our own investigation.

 

-Kakashi

 

Tsunade's already sour mood only worsened at the news. She had neglected to consider such a possibility when she sent Team Seven on their mission, wanting to just get Mikomi out of Konoha as fast as possible to avoid any further situations. The council could wait. She had to deal with this before Orochimaru forced Mikomi to start working for him again. Before he got any information out of her as well if possible.

 

“I have to cut the meeting short,” Tsunade replied before tucking the scroll back into its canister and heading towards the door Naiki had just come through, “A situation has arose that needs to be dealt with immediately and I can't remain in this meeting any longer.”

 

As Tsunade hurried from the room she was so preoccupied with the letter in her hands that she completely missed the presence of another person standing outside the council room. As Tsunade was in the middle of tossing the door shut behind her, the doorframe and the hallway seemed to distort slightly as a person hidden under a Genjutsu slipped into the council chambers. Once the door banged shut behind him, the person dropped the Genjutsu and revealed himself to be none other than Naiki, the Anbu guard who had just given Tsunade the scroll.

 

“What do you have to report on this time Naiki,” Homura asked the masked Anbu as he came into the chambers, “What was so urgent for Tsunade that she…had to…leave this council meeting.”

 

Naiki bowed low before he addressed the council, “It's another situation regarding Mikomi. One that I believe is the final proof that you will need to secure the belief that Mikomi has been acting as a spy for Orochimaru.” Naiki produced a small scroll with the message copied onto it, “Mikomi has disappeared from Team Seven and Orochimaru's presence was determined to be on the scene. It is common knowledge that Orochimaru is an expert at erasing all traces of his presence so that means that he wanted them to figure out that it was him who had `taken' the girl. I think you'll all agree with me that it is far more likely that Mikomi accompanied Orochimaru to the Sound to return to her master. I don't believe this was a capture of any kind.”

 

When the copied scroll finally reached Danzo he glanced towards Homura and Koharu and nodded, “I believe this is the last piece of justification we need to be able to push for Mikomi to be declared a Missing Nin from Konoha. If nothing else she will be killed and will no longer pose a threat to our village. With our official pressure bearing down on Tsunade she won't be avoid rendering Mikomi a Missing Nin for long.”

 

Danzo looked long and hard at Naiki for a moment before he spoke again, “Be sure to continue keeping tabs on the Hokage and the Mikomi situation. ROOTS…no, all of Konoha needs you to remain vigilant.”

 

 

Orochimaru was happy. No, he was far more than just simply `happy.' He was so thrilled and overjoyed that had he lacked the dignity and self-control he possessed he would have been jumping up and down and giggling like a little school girl, resplendent in his new body. He had Sasuke-kun's body all for himself. He had lovely little weapon back. His Mikomi-chan would be working for him once again and there was little chance she would prove as problematic or as defiant as before.

 

Making a beckoning gesture with his hand, Orochimaru mentally called Mikomi over to him and she obeyed wordlessly and without emotion whatsoever. A pleasurable thrill crawled its way down Orochimaru's spine as he reveled in the sheer power and control that his new shock collar enforced upon his slave. He loved this kind of power.

 

His face began to split into an obscene grin as he reveled in the thrill of controlling a young girl already so incredibly powerful with just a thought from his mind.

 

“Kukukuku,” Orochimaru chuckled as Mikomi stopped in front of him and knelt on the ground before him with another mental command. Orochimaru reached out and slid his right hand through Mikomi's purplish-black hair before he grasped it tightly in his fist and yanked her head upwards to face him. “You're all mine Mikomi-chan, my little weapon, mine to control, you are whatever I want you to be and you'll do whatever I want you to do.”

 

A sudden rush of almost unfamiliar hormones rushed through Orochimaru's body as he gazed down into the blank eyes of the girl before him. Slowly, slowly, Orochimaru began to extend his tongue out from his mouth the final foot to Mikomi's face. Just a moment before Orochimaru's tongue would have run up along the path traced by Mikomi's scar that ran down the left side of her face and eye her head swerved away.

 

“Kukukuku,” Orochimaru laughed as he slid his tongue back into his face and let go of Mikomi's hair. A grin remained plastered on his face as his thoughts focused on the slight resistance that Mikomi had demonstrated just a moment ago, `There is still a little bit of resistance left in there after all. This makes things so much more interesting after all. All that's left now is to test the limits of her resistance under the collar and then crush her spirit entirely and bend her to my will. She really has grown in the last year since she escaped…my care. It's time to test my toy.'

 

“Come with me,” Orochimaru called over his shoulder as he strode from his personal chambers and down the corridor towards the `room' the Tegatai Kinniku had been occupying at all time except for training since his failure to return Mikomi to him. Reaching a heavy wooden door Orochimaru pushed it open, ordered Mikomi into the room slipped inside to examine Mikomi. Orochimaru's grin shifted into a smirk when he saw Mikomi's eyes seem to flash in recognition of the room followed by a distinct stiffening of her stride.

 

`I knew it!' Orochimaru thought, once again bursting with glee, `I knew that had to be the answer. Powerful emotions or feelings seem to lend Mikomi a minimal level or resistance and tolerance to seals that are designed to enslave her mind. Let's push this a little bit further.'

 

Orochimaru stepped up to the door of the most used cell in his cell block and slid the grill open to peer inside at once proud form of Tegatai Kinniku. His once muscular frame still shone with all the outwards signs of power, but had been starved down to a lean, taught frame only two thirds as bulky as he had been before. Dark shadows seemed to bruise his eyes due to a lack of sleep and his skin was very pale from not being allowed out into the sunlight for the last several months. When the grill opened his eyes shot directly to the light and to the hook on the wall opposite where his sword, Touei Tenshu, hung. When his eyes locked with Orochimaru's snake-like eyes he looked away immediately.

 

“No need to look away Kinniku-chan,” Orochimaru cooed, “You're punishment is over now. And I've brought you a guest. She was the former occupant of your current home.”

 

Orochimaru threw open the cell door and mentally commanded Mikomi to step into the cell only to watch her freeze on the threshold. He grinned as he saw every muscle on the girl's frame straining to keep herself from entering the cell she had lived in for two whole years.

 

However, Kinniku froze in place for an entirely different reason. The second that he had laid his eyes on Mikomi a furious rage had ignited inside of him and burned outwards from every part of his body. He couldn't think straight enough to get to his feet and try and strangle the girl in front of him who had ruined his life.

 

Then Kinniku blinked, and his anger drained from his body. Relief coursed through him as he realized that Orochimaru was finally letting him out of this damn cell for good. Then, he at Mikomi face and couldn't believe his eyes.

 

Mikomi's face was completely and utterly blank. On top of all of that, a new collar was securely in place around her neck.

 

Kinniku swallowed hard before he spoke in a cracked voice, “O-Orochimaru-sama, who managed to capture the bit…girl for you?”

 

“I was not going to tolerate any more failures after your team didn't succeed,” Orochimaru said with humour ringing in his voice as he made sure to keep his body out of sight. Kinniku hadn't yet seen him since he had taken up residence in Sasuke's body, “So I captured her myself.”

 

A grimace crossed Kinniku's face for a moment before he looked at Mikomi again. He couldn't figure out why Mikomi looked so blank. He may have hated the girl, but even with the last collar that she had locked around her neck she had always shown a rebellious spirit than had challenged his own on more than one occasion.

 

Orochimaru didn't miss the looks he continued to give Mikomi's blank face as she remained frozen on the spot just outside her old cell.

 

“The new collar…lets just call it an upgrade of the old one that I had locked around her neck. It gives me control over her. Complete and utter control. It suppresses her free will to almost marginal levels. Her strength of will was surprisingly strong enough to resist its influence on several occasions.” Orochimaru grinned again as he stepped into Kinniku's line of sight, “Of course, she isn't the only who had been given something that is an improvement.”

 

A choking sound tore from Kinniku's throat as he took in the person Orochimaru's voice came from. There before him stood Uchiha Sasuke, his eyes changed from pitch-black orbs to the shocking golden snake's eyes Orochimaru possessed. But undeniably, every inch of him exuded the chilling presence Kinniku had come to recognize as Orochimaru.

 

“Orochimaru-sama,” Kinniku finally croaked out as he bowed his head, “What can this unworthy servant do to help you? Now that you are allowing my freedom…”

 

“Well,” Orochimaru grinned, “You can start by coming with me to where I've been having you train. I'd like you to help me run a few…tests…with my little weapon here. I don't think that you'll mind giving her a beating if I try and command her to remain perfectly still and take it?”

 

Shock crossed Kinniku's face for a full five seconds. Not in his wildest imagination had he believed that he would be released today, but to get what amounted to a reward as well...it was the last thing he had expected. As it sank in what Orochimaru was offering, a hungry look darkened his gaunt features. He wanted to give the girl pain. He wanted to pay her back for making the last months a living hell. He wanted to torture her from destroying his reputation as an elite ninja from the Sound as well as everything else he had gain while living in the sound.

 

Kinniku cracked his knuckles, “Lead the way Orochimaru-sama, lead the way. I will do whatever you want me to do to help with this little testing of yours. I'll do anything that will give that little bitch pain.”

 

Orochimaru's laughter at Kinniku's eagerness rang throughout the hallways of his subterranean prison as he commanded his two servants to follow him to the nearest training room. The same one Mikomi had originally been trained in by that incompetent oaf Sadisuto.

 

`My, my Kinniku-chan,' Orochimaru mused in thought, `I truly wonder how much pain you'll be able to inflict upon the girl. Any fool who had felt her battle aura before she had left and the battle aura that she exudes now could see how much stronger she has become. And the crème-de-la-crème is the Sharingan. A second pair of eyes under my control. Best of all, she has a second pair of eyes unable to defy me.'

 

Throwing open the doors to the empty training chamber Orochimaru casually commanded Mikomi to start leaping around the room, making sure that she doesn't allow herself to return to the floor. Orochimaru tossed Mikomi a little leer before addressing Kinniku.

 

“The collar provides a mental link between Mikomi and myself allowing me to issue commands,” Orochimaru explained, “But I want you to test how much she will obey if I command her to allow another person to harm her. Also, I think you would enjoy it if I tested whether or not I can command her to listen to the verbal commands of an individual other than myself.”

 

Huger flashed in Kinniku's eyes as he started to follow the dizzying path Mikomi was streaking around the training chamber's walls and ceiling. He nodded, forcing his gaze to return to his master and bowed down once again.

 

“Good…” Orochimaru purred as focused on Mikomi once again, “but first I want to see what she can do.”

 

The next hour nearly drove Kinniku insane as he was forced to watch Orochimaru play with and test Mikomi's abilities on the various apparatus in the training room. Logs were crushed, burnt, sliced, spiked and blasted around the room. Laps were clocked and reflexes were tested by a several scrolls set to fire off different volleys of kunai over varying intervals. All the basics were covered as quickly as possible by Orochimaru and he his mood only continued to improve. Before Mikomi had left she had been a surprisingly powerful fighter. Now, he had brought her back after she had been transformed into a real ninja. And getting her to train here had been one of the easiest mental commands he had given her. It wasn't until it had been reduced to almost nothing that Orochimaru had noticed the mental resistance that Mikomi had been putting up to each and every command.

 

“Kukukuku, alright Kinniku,” Orochimaru announced at last, ordering Mikomi to stand at attention before him and addressed the impatient man beside him, “this is where I'll need your assistance. I want to test the limits of how much I can force her to do what she doesn't want to do. I want to see the sort of limits her remaining willpower places upon the orders that I can give her. I'm going to order Mikomi to come near you, and then gradually work my way up from there.”

 

When Kinniku went to protest Orochimaru just glared at him. Kinniku shut up and stood still.

 

“Alright Mikomi-chan, now stand anywhere within five feet of Kinniku.” Orochimaru said as he took note of Kinniku's surprised face at the verbally issued order. Grinning again, Orochimaru dramatically shook his head, “No, no Mikomi, not behind Kinniku, in front of him.”

 

Closer and closer Orochimaru ordered Mikomi to approach Kinniku and each time the resistance got stronger and stronger. “Alright, now slow dance with him Mikomi.”

 

“No Orochimaru-sama!” Kinniku blurted out, disgusted, before he realized his mistake, “I-I-I-I, I refuse to let you do that to me!”

 

“Shut-up,” Orochimaru snapped as he irritably noted that Mikomi's arms were shaking slightly in resistance to the command before they fell up on Kinniku's shoulders and she began to forcibly revolve around the room dragging him along with her. Her resistance only served to shake Kinniku up wildly before reared back and slugged Mikomi in the face.

 

Or, at least, he tried to. Orochimaru couldn't help be feel a little thrill when Mikomi blankly dodged the punch thrown at her and just continued on dancing.

 

“Enough, enough, release him,” Orochimaru ordered before he leaned back against the wall and nodded to Kinniku. “I'll give you what you wanted now Kinniku-chan. Now Mikomi-chan, be a good girl and remain standing there, without defending yourself, while Kinniku beats you.”

 

Kinniku was red-faced after being shaken about like a rag doll by Mikomi's impromptu dance. A familiar rush or anger coursed through his veins, but that didn't stop him from wondering what the hell had caused Mikomi to think that shaking her dance partner was any kind of dancing at all. Sliding into an offensive stance, Kinniku gave Mikomi another once over.

 

She was standing perfectly still. Wide open to any attack. It was just what Kinniku wanted.

 

Bursting out of his crouch, Kinniku closed the distance to Mikomi in less than a second and followed up with a punch that was even faster.

 

Orochimaru felt the slight twinge that he had begun to associate with Mikomi willfully resisting his mental commands. He knew that something was going to happen now.

 

Kinniku's eyes widened in disbelief as Mikomi's glassy eyes slowly slid away from him as he watched head and shoulders dip to the left and roll in order to dodge his fist. Disbelief turned to furious anger at the girl in front of him as well as Orochimaru for denying him the revenge he so justly deserved. His following sweep kick at Mikomi again met with air as she continued to roll backwards into back roll before springing to her feet. Kinniku went on a furious offensive, and still not a single blow landed. The angrier he got, the faster his punches became, but the sloppier they became.

 

For five minutes Kinniku chased Mikomi around the training hall trying to crush her head in before he finally noticed the unusual actions that her hands were making. They were curiously clenching and unclenching, but remained locked at her side. It almost looked as if she wanted to strangle the life out of him, but couldn't.

 

When Orochimaru's laughter echoed through the training hall again Kinniku finally stopped trying to attack Mikomi and just stood there shame-faced and furious at the same time. He threw a vindictive glare at Orochimaru over his shoulder before he could stop himself and he just as quickly jerked his head back down and studied the floor carefully to keep from doing anything stupid.

 

“It's not as easy as you thought is would be Kinniku-chan,” Orochimaru gloated, despite the fact that his order had been almost thoroughly ignored, “She has become even greater than I could have imagined since you failed to return her to me. Now for another revulsion test. Mikomi, strip off all of your clothing and then stand perfectly still.”

 

Orochimaru could feel the tingling of resistance in his mind even as Mikomi started taking off her black boots. Her shirt followed, revealing the white bra that Hinata had gotten for her as a gift after her chest had grown large enough to require one. Then her shorts were next, revealing a matching pair of panties.

 

And then nothing. Mikomi stopped, with a blank look on her face, and remained perfectly still.

 

“She resisted that even further than I expected,” Orochimaru mused. He studied Mikomi for a moment before trying something else, “Now Mikomi-chan…activate that lovely Sharingan of yours.” Mikomi just blinked.

 

A minute passed and still there was no reaction from Mikomi. She had resisted the command entirely.

 

When Kinniku snorted in derisive amusement Orochimaru felt a twinge of anger flare up, “Mikomi, active your damn Sharingan and use it to beat the shit of that impudent ass!”

 

Orochimaru could have sworn that he saw the ghost of a smile flicker onto Mikomi's face for a moment before it became a blank slate again. And, he didn't notice any kind of resistance to his command this time. It wasn't all that hard to deduce what this meant for someone of Orochimaru's wit. Either he would have to start shocking Mikomi every time he felt that slight tingle of resistance to his commands. Or he would just have to make sure the command was phrased in a way that would ensure Mikomi's compliance.

 

The sound of retching brought Orochimaru's thoughts back to his entertainment. He allowed himself this moment of relaxation, letting his senses drink in the lovely sounds of his weapon tossing Tegatai Kinniku around the room like a rag doll.

 

 

It was surprisingly easy to lose yourself in a crowd when there was nobody out searching for you. It was even easier when anybody who really would have cared to find him all thought that he was dead. Then again, Sasuke wasn't about to lose the greatest asset that he had at the moment by getting carried away and doing something stupid. Even so, he felt uneasy when he turned his back on the owner of a weapons shop who getting beaten by three rather ornery ninjas from the Village Hidden in Sound.

 

Ko City was no longer the safe and inviting place that it had been when he had passed through with Mikomi a year ago. Orochimaru's ninja's overriding the city's laws whenever they didn't suit them didn't help.

 

Sasuke nearly sighed in disgust before performing a powerful Henge to change his appearance to a common field worker. The situation seemed to be the same all throughout Rice Country: the power was slowly being leeched from the Daimyo who had ruled over the country for the last two decades. Orochimaru's village was slowly moving in to secure a stronger power base in Rice Country. Sasuke had been forced to watch as extortion and violence from the Sound Ninjas had run rampant in nearly every major town and city he had entered in Rice Country in his attempts to find any kind of information about Mikomi's location. He honestly couldn't believe that Orochimaru either had lost control of his ninja or else sought to drain the resources out of the country that his village was there to protect and serve.

 

But there was nothing that Sasuke could do. At least, nothing until he found out where Mikomi's current location. And Sasuke had been searching throughout all of Rice Country for that answer before he made his way into Mikomi's home town.

 

Village after town after city continually had brought him no answers as he had traveled rapidly across the country at speeds few could ever hope to match. Sasuke had continually kept himself under cover and had discretely searched each town for any sign that people had spotted Mikomi. It seemed as if nobody had seen anyone in Rice Country matching Mikomi's description since the day he had died. This only clued him into the fact that Mikomi was no longer living within Rice Country, something that he had already assumed had happened since he remembered removing the collar from her neck. But he could figure out where she had ended up.

 

The only tidbits of information he had picked up had actually originated right her in Ko City. The village turned city had turned out to have a few people who had attended the recent Chuunin exams in Konoha, apparently because they had heard that the family name of one of the top eight competitors in the final tournament was named Yominokuni. A name that Sasuke had soon found out was almost synonymous with respect in Ko. Within an hour of entering the village he had ended up in front of the Yominokuni Clinic, built from the same house that been originally owned by the medical family. It had only taken a minimal amount of feigned interest in the history of the clinic and inquiries about who it had been built for to discover the name of someone who had known the family in the past. An old man by the name of Liam, who just happened to own a sweets shop nearby.

 

Keeping his head bowed and facing away from the hapless weapons shop owner, Sasuke slowly edged his way around the group of Sound Nins and headed down the road towards the shop Liam was supposed to own. He just tried to block the sounds from his mind as best as he could.

 

It was only a three minute walk later when Sasuke finally spotted a new, colourfully painted sign that proudly proclaimed: Liam's Okashi. There were wheeled carts that were artfully set up in a miniature display that extended a couple of feet beyond the shop's opening and seemed to have a small crowd constantly ebbing and flowing in and out of the building. A busy place and therefore a dangerous place to enter, but it was a necessary risk that he needed to take.

 

Sasuke slowly made his way through the sweets shop, pausing every now and then to examine and read the labels and prices posted over the impressive selection of sweets and confections the shop boasted. Keeping his eyes on the door that lead into the back rooms of Liam's shop, Sasuke's eyes did a continual sweep of the store for any sign of Liam. He wasn't behind the counter at the moment. Since he didn't know the man, they might take more notice of him for asking questions about him.

 

Paranoid precautions perhaps, but it allowed for Sasuke to have control over more problematic variables than he currently was.

 

After wandering shelves for a further eleven minutes, Sasuke finally spotted an older gentleman pushing the door that led to the back room open while carrying a tray laden with skewers of dango to go on display beneath the glass counters in his shop.

 

Picking his way over to the counter, Sasuke stopped in front of Liam before he looked up and did a quick scan over the price boards that lined the walls behind the counter. When he spotted the `Mikomi Special,' Sasuke did a double-take. He had tried to remain completely calm and disconnected to the situation, but seeing Mikomi's name posted on the wall like that had caught him off balance.

 

And it hadn't gone unnoticed.

 

Liam's sharp eyes had caught Sasuke's reaction and quickly flicked over to the wall to check what he had been reading. He glanced up at the face of the field worker in front of him before he spoke, “Surely you can't be that surprised that I'm offering a special dango platter? My shop does specialize in making various…gourmet dango varieties after all.” Liam paused and made sure to look closely at the man's eyes, “Or maybe…it's the name that caught your eye.”

 

Shame actually flooded through Sasuke at Liam's words. Although he didn't show any further reaction Sasuke knew that he had just committed the biggest error that he could ever remember making in the past two years. He had shown a visible reaction to the person he was trying to gather information on. Perhaps his personal connection to Mikomi was starting to make the perfect Uchiha slip up due to his eagerness to find her.

 

“Yes…” Sasuke sighed, seeing no way out of this situation except for to part with a partial truth, “The name caught my eye more than anything else. I, well, I used to know Yominokuni Mikomi who lived around here some years back. I was friends with her. I mean, I've heard stories about the `bloody' disappearance of the Yominokuni family, but I won't deny I find it hard to believe. They were all such good people…”

 

Sasuke could easily read the unease that Liam clearly thought that he was doing a good job of hiding and thought that it was all over for a moment. Then it abruptly changed into a calm, but sad smile. But something else seemed to be lying beneath his smile, something that Sasuke couldn't quite place.

 

“It was a tragedy that I will admit, broke my heart,” Liam said, genuine affection echoing in his words. “Their little girl, Mikomi actually came up with that special there. When they discovered that she was missing too…well, I wanted to try and make sure that I could remind the people who knew her that she had lived here with the rest of us.”

 

“So…” Sasuke began, trying to keep up his pretense by injecting as much sorrow as he could into his voice. After all, his guilt for leaving Mikomi alone for so long was finally starting to catch up with him, “So it's really true. They're all gone. I just…I just didn't want to believe that they actually are gone…”

 

“Why are you so interested in them anyway? If you've heard that they disappeared, why are you still asking around for them?”

 

“That's just it,” Sasuke said, “they just disappeared is what everybody keeps telling me. They didn't find any bodies. They couldn't tell who attacked them. They were just gone.”

 

“You're not just a farmer are you boy,” Liam said. It wasn't a question. “I doubt that you'd be asking me these sorts of questions if you didn't already know something boy. Why are you bothering me with something like this?”

 

That did it. Sasuke knew that he was exposed, but the old man had given away that he knew something about Mikomi. If he knew something a little more specific than just `she was part of the Konoha Chuunin exams' then he wanted to know it. Caution didn't really apply if a person had already had suspicions about you.

 

Sasuke leaned in close to Liam and began to talk to him in a hushed voice, “Look, I've been out of the loop for a little while, but I know that Mikomi is alive. I'm her old partner. She thinks that I've been killed and so does that bastard Orochimaru…”

 

A half an hour later, Sasuke walked out of Liam's Okashi with faint smile on his face and a spring in his step. He knew where he had to go.

 

He knew where Mikomi was. He was headed home. The Uchiha was returning to Konoha.

 

 

Sasuke had to admit that it was almost child's play to slip into Konoha this time without having to bring along a novice ninja. Orochimaru may have been a bastard, but he did know what he was doing when it came to stealth jutsu. After all, even the Hyuuga did have more than one weakness when it came to using those incredible eyes of theirs: they rarely bothered to look underground.

 

Stopping just under a mile from Konoha's gates, Sasuke had allowed his body to sink into the ground and essentially swam through the ground and into Konoha. Even the trick Orochimaru had developed to ensure an enemy free exit area by casting a literal `line of sight' to the surface proved invaluable. Sasuke had managed to rise up through the earth right near the back of a small inn on the eastern side of Konoha without being seen. A quick Henge would be absolutely useless with the number of Hyuuga's that had been out patrolling the walls and gates as they would seen the glow his chakra gave off. Make-up, on the other hand, was far harder for their eyes to penetrate. Sasuke darkened his face with a bit of charcoal grit that he had ground up the night before from his fire. Next came a pair of black gloves, and then he started slipping through the night-time crowd of drinkers and merrymakers who were out enjoying the bars that were seeded throughout all of Konoha. Convenient places to pick up information if you could actually translate the slurs of the drunks inside.

 

After leaving the fifth bar that night Sasuke started to realize the futility of his bar hopping escapade. No matter how drunk the ninjas he had talked to had become, the Jounins who might have actually had any useful information all knew him far to well to be able to risk talking to them. Even the most junior of Jounin had been trained to remember their actions while they had been drinking. They might not raise the alarm that night, but the next day people would be swarming all over the village trying to find him.

 

That left the Hokage's mission records to try and find Mikomi's location. And Ninja below Jounin rank had less than a 1% chance of being sent on a mission that was kept out of the public records.

 

Sasuke steered the group of singing compatriots he left the fifth bar with in the direction of the Hokage tower. He had no idea where they actually lived as he hadn't ever gotten to know all that many of the Chuunin in the village, singing bawdily with them kept most of the other people out that night away from them.

 

Despite the slow going, Sasuke eventually found himself nearby the Hokage tower. Before breaking away from his little group, he reached his senses up in the direction of the Hokage's office. There wasn't even the faintest of chakra signatures coming from a living person in there. There were a few from security sensors as well as traps, but no people.

 

Breaking away, Sasuke called to them will false cheer and stumbled down a nearby alley way before shedding his false stupor and slinking into the shadows. Again, Sasuke allowed his body to sink into the ground before he made his move towards the tower. Using his `line of sight' Sasuke noted that the guard patrols still kept the same shifting pattern that he had studied the last time he has sneaked into Konoha. The fact that he had lived there most of his life only sped up the process.

 

Like a wraith, Sasuke emerged from the ground, shot up the building's wall, disabled the sensory tags that lined the nearest window into Tsunade's office, and slipped inside. A moment later, Sasuke cast a Genjutsu that would make anybody looking up and into the Hokage's office see nothing but the usual shadowed darkness that filled the room when nobody was in the room at night. A second jutsu quickly followed that generated a small ball of lightning energy that hovered over his shoulder and gave off just enough light for Sasuke to see.

 

A quick search of the room yielded nothing, but it didn't surprise Sasuke in the slightest. If records, even public ones, could be found easily in a Ninja village they weren't doing their job. And recent records always were kept in the Hokage's office itself.

 

The Sharingan whirled into Sasuke's eyes and he took a closer look around the room for any signs of chakra residue or manipulated paneling. When he spotted two crescents of chakra residue on either side of the entrance to the room, Sasuke couldn't help but recognize the brilliance of the hiding place. But that was all the time he allowed himself to waste. There was less than three hours until Tsunade would like return to her office at dawn, and he had to find information on Mikomi in that time.

 

Examining the `door handles' for the hidden archives, Sasuke's Sharingan was able to easily figure how it worked, and a gentle projection of chakra through the seam later and it was opened.

 

What was revealed was enough paperwork to give an accountant several nightmares. Housed inside the wall were seven shelves crammed with paper generated for ever day of the week for a full month. Sasuke started to fear that there might not be enough time left this night to find anything on Mikomi. She was one ninja out of thousands in Konoha, and if he couldn't come across a starting point.

 

Hauling a stack of papers down from the top shelf marked with the current date, Sasuke started rifling through the files as fast as possible. He kept his Sharingan active, anything to speed up what was looking to be an exhaustive search.

 

An hour and a half and two weeks worth of papers later there wasn't even a single mention of Mikomi's name in the pages. Frustration was finally starting to work its way into Sasuke. `I just need her name. A starting point to work from. What the hell is going on? Every time a ninja goes on a mission it is recorded somewhere. I doubt that Chuunin would get sent on a mission that would be entered in the `black' files so where the hell is her name? The damn mission scrolls would at least give me something to work with…'

 

Sasuke froze, feeling utterly moronic. He couldn't believe that it had taken him this long to remember the damn mission scrolls. Forcing himself not to start cursing, Sasuke quickly and carefully replaced the files he had been examining and closed the sliding wall. Moving as fast as he could, Sasuke moved to the other side of the door and opened up the other wall cabinet to find a far less cramped space. Again, the wall was organized by day of the month, but the bundles of four scrolls would be far easier to manage. Only missions ranked A to D were kept in the office.

 

This time, however, Sasuke could skip ahead by two weeks to begin his search. If her name wasn't in any of the more extensive records for the past two weeks, her name wouldn't be in the mission records.

 

Six scrolls later Sasuke found Mikomi's name linked with a B ranked mission. Sasuke was rather surprised to find that Mikomi was taking part of an escort mission to guard the Fire Daimyo, especially the three week long timeframe, but it also gave Sasuke an ideal situation to both gather information on Mikomi's whereabouts as well as a timeframe for when he could find her. A small smile actually crept onto Sasuke's face when he realized that the official title for their team was `Team Seven.'

 

Sliding the scrolls back in place Sasuke felt closer to reuniting with Mikomi than he ever had before in the last ten months. All he had to do was wait for five days - and make sure to visit the residential records office - then he'd get the chance to see her again.

 

 

Five days later, the sun rose to greet Sasuke from his position within a café near Konoha's gates. And he couldn't have projected an image that differed so much from the one he had before he had returned to life. He had dressed himself in recently `borrowed' clothes of a deep forest green inlaid with a sky blue trim. A black beret perched at a jaunty angle on his head, Sasuke had stack of paper and several expensive looking pens. For the last hour he had been keeping a sharp eye on the gate while pretending to be writing a fictional story about ninjas. The fact that his experience in the realm of the Shinigami was so unbelievable gave Sasuke a great deal of content to write about. He just hoped that Mikomi and Team would show up before noon or else he might start to struggle to keep writing.

 

For the next several hours, ever time Sasuke sensed a large chakra signature coming towards Konoha he looked up to examine the team that was returning to Konoha. He had seen a few familiar faces: Shino, Tenten when she met up with Lee and Gai, even one of the Inuzuka clan. But Team Seven hadn't shown up yet.

 

The sun was just inching towards its peek at noon when Sasuke finally felt a very familiar chakra signature in the distance. It was one that he would never forget, along with two other very familiar chakra signatures.

 

But one was missing.

 

Sasuke frowned and bit down on the back of his pen as he sent his senses reaching to try and get a lock on Mikomi. He could sense Naruto. He could pick up Kakashi. He could even feel Sakura. But he couldn't pick up Mikomi's chakra signature anywhere.

 

When Sasuke finally spotted Team Seven minus Mikomi entering through Konoha's gates he put his head down to his paper, but focused chakra into his ears to try and pick up anything about Mikomi from their conversation.

 

“…we've got to get Tsunade-ba-chan to give permission to go after her right away Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto's overly loud voice, even when trying to keep quiet, carried to Sasuke's chakra-enhanced ears, “Why do we even need to wait anyway? Argh!”

 

“Enough Naruto,” Kakashi shot back quickly as Naruto's voice started to get louder, “Nobody needs to know that unless Tsunade decides they should.” Kakashi lowered his voice even further, causing Sasuke to strain his ears to try and catch what he said, “Besides, any connection between a ninja of Konoha and Orochimaru is enough to arouse a full investigation by the Konoha Council.”

 

Sasuke faintly heard something snap, and it took him a moment to notice something wet was dripping form his hand. Looking down at his right hand, Sasuke faintly realized that it was covered in ink from his now broken pen and started to clean it up. However, his mind was focused on the news that he had just overheard.

 

Orochimaru had Mikomi, or that's how things seemed. Or maybe they had left Mikomi outside of town so as to avoid problems with her connection to Orochimaru. Or maybe he was just going to have to follow them to find out for sure.

 

Shaking his head and cursing at his self made mess, Sasuke made a bit of a production on his departure from the café before he slipped into the back alley and disposed of his disguise. Stepping out into the crowd, Sasuke's new disguise was that of grimy iron worker as he began to follow Team Seven towards the Hokage tower.

 

When he neared the tower, Sasuke had to duck down another alley once again. The guards would easily spot someone out of place approaching the tower and make note of them if nothing else. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Sasuke began to quickly seal for a jutsu that he had copied with his Sharingan but never used. As he finished sealing Sasuke felt an odd liquid sensation creep from his head and down over his body. Looking down Sasuke examined his skin: it looked exactly like whatever was directly on the other side of it. Distorted, but almost impossible to see nonetheless.

 

Creeping out from the alley, Sasuke sprinted across the open ground to the base of the tower directly below Tsunade's office. Sasuke's heart was pounding as he forced his breath to remain almost silent as he glanced around to see if anyone had taken notice. Seeing no faces even turned in his direction, Sasuke scaled the wall like a spider and took a perch outside of Tsunade's office.

 

This time Sasuke didn't need to strain his hearing to catch what they were saying inside. Tsunade's voice was loud and clear.

 

“You've confirmed that it was Orochimaru that was responsible for Mikomi disappearance correct? Then you have to get her out of his grasp. If he had reassert control over her then I'm afraid she will no longer be a good friend, but a powerful enemy. I don't want to have to hurt that girl when she's already been put through so much by that bastard.”

 

Sasuke peeked up over the window ledge into Tsunade's office to find the remaining members of Team Seven, as well as Hinata assembled in the room. Hinata's white face showed that she felt at least as ill as he himself did about the news. He couldn't deny it anymore.

 

Just before he left Sasuke saw shy Hinata step forward - and proved she wasn't so shy anymore. “I want to be part of the team that rescues her! Mikomi, well, she's…I want to help her. She's lived on the Hyuuga compound for so long that she feels like a sister to me. I-I don't want anything bad to happen to her anymore! We have to get her now!”

 

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand that Mikomi was back in Orochimaru's grasp. In the past he might have thought it convenient that both of his goals were in the same place, but not anymore. Not since he acknowledged that Mikomi had lived a past that was just as much of a nightmare as his own. At times he even wondered if it was worse.

 

But as Sasuke dropped from the Hokage tower he missed the Anbu member that burst in on the impromptu rescue meeting between Tsunade, Hinata and Team Seven.