Dusk came slower than Ko had wanted. She was excited to leave the dark depressing cave to finally be in the Sound Village surrounded by other people and could be herself for once. She and Sasuke were told earlier to gather their belongings and meet Orochimaru outside his office which was where Ko was heading now. Sasuke of course was there first waiting impatiently as Kabuto emerged from Orochimaru's office followed by Orochimaru himself.

"Now, let's get going." He ordered turning away.

The three followed in suit as Orochimaru led them further and further into the hideout not sure where he was taking them. Finally, they reached a door opening it leading them into another training area. Ko didn't know why but it looked familiar to her, she looked around seeing the padded floor with many marks on it, most likely from training, including blood stains. On the wall there was a scorch mark with a small outline of an arm which instantly triggered her memory. This was the old cabin she grew up in. That scorch mark was from when her Father first taught her fire jutsu burning her arm in the process.

"Is this?" Ko started unable to finish her sentence for she was still in shock. She never thought she'd see this place again.

"Our old home? Yes, I added to the training room making an underground passage in case I ever needed it." Orochimaru answered as he continued to walk towards the door.

Ko was closer and opened it herself leading up to the stairs instantly heading towards her old room once she got to the top. The windowless cabin was dark but Ko still managed to get around without bumping into anything. Once she opened her bedroom door, she was greeted by the dust filled air making her sneeze. She looked around her old room seeing everything was the same as she left it all those years ago. In her closet were still her old small clothes she use to wear which weren't many since Orochimaru was hardly around to give her more.

She headed towards her bed lifting the mattress finding her old diary that Orochimaru gave her for her fourth birthday since it was all she asked for. She remembered how lonely it was while Orochimaru was gone only giving her jutsu to practice in his absence. There was hardly any entertainment besides training and reading training scrolls which was most likely the reason why she excelled; there wasn't anything else to do. She opened the battered book skimming through the entries.

Hello Diary, my name is Ko. Currently I am four years old and you were given to me as a gift from Daddy. We live in a big hideout with a lot of windows but I'm never allowed to go upstairs and see through them. Daddy is always away so I live here with our maid. She never told me her name but she has been taking care of me my whole life. She's really nice but I can tell she's sad. Daddy is busy out on missions and things for the Leaf Village that's why she takes care of me. You may be wondering how I'm able to write at this age, well it's because Daddy has me read a lot and work on my writing while he's gone along with training and the maid helps too. Speaking of it, I should get back to training.

"Maid? We never had a maid. I would've remembered something like that." She wondered out loud then flipped through the pages.

Dear diary, it has been weeks since Daddy last paid me a visit. I'm starting to run out of food so hopefully he will come back soon. I wish he'd be here more often but he told me I need to be kept a secret and can't risk anyone following him and finding out about me. I don't even know what the sun looks like, I'm always watched and can never sneak upstairs to see what the outside world looks like. Daddy never lets me outside in fear of someone seeing me. I don't know why he wants to keep me a secret but maybe it's because I'm important somehow.

"I was a fool back then, so innocent and happy. I wonder what would've happened if someone did find me...mostly likely be brought to the village then put in prison once Father fled the village." Ko said as she flipped a few pages. "Hm the maid isn't mentioned anymore, what happened to her?"

Diary, Father's training has gotten even harder. We moved closer to the Land of Fire and ever since then, he has been getting stricter with training. Before it was only taijutsu and basic ninjutsu but now I'm learning elemental jutsu as well. I learned that I have the fire element so far just like Father but as he trained me, I was burned. It was my fault, I was suppose to dodge but I wasn't fast enough and also hesitated. I made my own fireball but it wasn't as big as Fathers. It was a lot harder than it looked and lost control almost burning Father in return but he is a very skilled shinobi and dodged. As I recovered, Father showed me his collection of swords including the sword of Chokuto his second prized possession next to the sword of Kusanagi. He told me that once I was ready, he would pass it down to me.

"Hm I forgot about that promise, now that I'm back, he has to give me the sword seeing that I am worthy of it now. Wielding that sword will get me closer to his acceptance."

Ko closed the book putting it in her bag and took one last look at her room before heading towards Orochimaru's office. She poked her head around the corner seeing Sasuke and Kabuto waiting for him by the door as he gathered books and scrolls from his dusty desk. Once he was finished, he turned around heading out the door which Kabuto and Sasuke cleared the way for.

They all followed him to the door heading out of the cabin. The light was blinding even though they only spent a few days in the darkness of the hideout. Right away they started to run making Ko remember the day she was finally out of the cabin heading towards her new home, the Sound Village.

"Conceal your chakra, we don't want to be detected. Ko, can you use your eyes without chakra?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes, but I can only see five miles around."

"That's good enough," he said before taking off towards the Sound village.

Before following, Ko sealed her chakra into the necklace then activated her Subete Miru making her eyes sting, but it was bearable. She followed the others catching up quickly feeling weak once again. She had not used her Subete Miru without chakra in years which strained her eyes and energy. Only after a few minutes of running, her leg started to throb in pain. Her pills were in her shuriken pouch and popped a few numbing her pain along with the rest of her body. The pain in her eyes subsided and didn't feel as weak as she did before. They traveled at a normal speed as they ran, Ko couldn't help but think about the distance between the cabin and the Leaf village. She always thought she was closer but realized how far away it was; now she understood why Orochimaru hardly came back, he couldn't be gone for long in case the village needed him.

The journey was a lot shorter than Ko remembered since they were just about to reach the border of the Land of Fire. Ko suddenly stopped in her tracks seeing movement up ahead.

"Stop, I see something up ahead." Ko called out. "I believe they're ANBU patrolling the border. Two of are scanning the area while one is more towards the east patrolling. There have to be more hiding, they can't expect three ANBU to hold us back." Ko informed.

"They have another objective, Tsunade wouldn't be so foolish." Orochimaru scoffed.

"What do we do? Fight or go around."

"Go around, fight if we must."

The four headed East but stayed five miles from the border so Ko could keep an eye on the ANBU. Ko could see more ANBU waiting as they ran, seven in total.

"I've seen seven so far, what are they planning?" Ko wondered.

"They might be on a recovery mission," Kabuto said as if reading her mind. "They're either after Sasuke or Ko. It is also possible they might follow us to the Sound."

"Hmm it seems like we'll have to fight then. Sasuke and Ko, try not to get captured or killed; they're more advanced than you both." Orochimaru warned. "How many are near us?"

"Three for now, the other four are a few miles away." Ko answered.

Orochimaru nodded as he started to run North with the others in tow. Ko caught up to Sasuke running next to him.

"We have to team up," Ko said glancing at him.

"I can handle myself." Sasuke scoffed.

"Okay hot shot, you can't handle Kakashi or even Itachi who were both Anbu. You had a tough time fighting Naruto, if you want to live, I suggest you forget your pride for a moment." Ko said making Sasuke cast a glare her way but it only made her smirk.

"Good, now that you're on board. You distract them and I'll sneak up behind him. With my chakra completely hidden, he won't sense me."

Sasuke was silent but nodded showing he understood the plan. Ko turned her attention back onto the Anbu up ahead. She could see the three Anbu quickly turned their heads in the two's direction.

"They noticed us." Ko alerted them.

Soon enough, the Anbu ran towards them quickly engaging them in battle. Orochimaru and Kabuto took on one each while Sasuke faced another. Ko hid in the trees still masking her chakra. She quietly jumped from branch to branch trying to get behind Sasuke's opponent. Once she was close enough, she saw the ANBU fighting Sasuke jump back closer to her. She sprinted towards him jumping in the air weaving hand signs then touched her necklace releasing her chakra. The Anbu noticed her and ducked thinking she was aiming for his head then turned around to face her but she was already behind him. She quickly made more hand signs.

"Ninja art, striking shadow snake!" Ko shouted as she threw her arms up at him as snakes emerged from her sleeves viciously biting the Anbu's mask and body.

Ko backflipped away from him landing next to Sasuke. The Anbu quickly recovered managing to get the snakes off of him then got into a fighting stance. Both Sasuke and Ko ran towards the Anbu engaging him in taijutsu but he dodged all their attacks; he was faster. Ko was punched in the stomach while Sasuke was kicked in the back. They both flew back, Sasuke skidding on the ground while Ko managed to land on her feet only to fall to her knees.

The Anbu was already behind Ko kicking her to the ground before moving to Sasuke. Ko got back up on her feet rushing to help him. She quickly made hand signs. "Earth style: Earth shards!"

The ground started to shake as small pieces of earth started to rise from the ground then shoot towards the Anbu. Sasuke stayed low to the ground as the rocks hit the enemy then swung his legs towards the man making him fall to the ground. Sasuke quickly got up making hand signs followed by Ko.

"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" They shouted in unison.

Fire flew from their mouths heading towards the enemy. The fireballs collided making it even bigger giving it more area to hit making it hard for the Anbu to dodge. The flames were intense making the two genin sweat as they watched their jutsu hit the ground hopefully hitting the Anbu as well. They gave each other a glance then back at the ground seeing the flames disperse but the Anbu was gone. Before they could process it, Ko was grabbed from below making her sink into the ground.

Her eyes widened with shock as she looked down at the two visible hands dragging her down. She looked back up at Sasuke reaching out towards him, he grabbed her wrists trying to pull her back up but a clone came out of the bushes kicking him away. By the time he looked back at her, Ko was already gone. He reached into his shuriken pouch throwing it at the clone making it disappear. He looked back at the other two seeing that they were just finishing up with their own Anbu.

"They took Ko!" Sasuke alerted them.

Orochimaru and Kabuto killed the remaining Anbu then looked over at Sasuke seeing he was right. Even though only Orochimaru's eye was visible, Sasuke could see that he was irritated but also angry.

"Tsk, she couldn't even follow the simplest instructions." Orochimaru scoffed before searching for her chakra signature.

Meanwhile, Ko resurfaced with the Anbu who had her arms secured behind her back. He reached into his bag with one hand getting more rope to tie her up.

"What do you want with me?" She questioned glaring hard at the man.

"I was instructed by Lord Danzo to capture you." He spoke which made Ko's expression change to confusion.

"What? Who the hell is that? Tsunade didn't send you?"

"I do not obey the Hokage, only Lord Danzo."

This confused Ko, she had never heard of him before and wondered why he wanted her captured. She didn't want to find out why he wanted her; she refused to go back to the Leaf. She sent chakra to her feet then bent her knees jumping high into the air catching the ANBU off guard. There was no way he was an Anbu, they were all loyal to the Hokage.

"This had to have been a trick. Father must know something about this Danzo guy so they disguised themselves as Anbu." Ko thought as she made more hand signs.

He ran towards Ko with a kunai in hand stopping her from completing her jutsu, she could only dodge his attack. Her eyes were a huge advantage, but her speed wasn't a match for his. He managed to cut her stomach making her hiss in pain followed by a kick to her fresh wound. She slid on her back clutching her wound as blood dripped onto the ground. Before she could get back up, he punched her face making her body twist to her right rolling a few times before landing on her back.

"The one time I seal my sword into a scroll..." Ko scolded herself as she pushed herself back up.

She could see him walking towards her so she quickly got out her own kunai slashing at him once he was close enough. She was able to cut deep into his arm making him jump away from her. Ko tried to stand but the pain in her stomach made her fall to her knees.

"Ninja art: Giant Shuriken body technique," she heard her opponent say.

She looked up seeing him throw a shuriken towards her getting bigger and bigger as it grew closer. Her eyes widened in fear and adrenaline took over numbing the pain in her stomach so she could dodge the attack. Ko quickly got to her feet running to her right thinking she dodged the shuriken but it started to curve towards her.

"Is he trying to capture or kill me?" She wondered as she ducked under it.

She started to run towards the Anbu with her kunai attacking him with all she had before the adrenaline wore off. As they fought, she managed to inflict more injuries on him receiving some of her own. Within minutes, she could see he was starting to slow down, she guessed from the blood loss. He cried out in pain when Ko's kunai managed to dig into his other arm but something felt off, he didn't bother to dodge it. Before she knew it, something struck her in the back; it was the shuriken.

"H-how?" She gasped then started to cough up blood. She could feel the pain on her left side intensify with every cough.

"My shuriken are special, once they lock onto a person's chakra, there's no escaping it." His voice wavered as he spoke indicating he was trying to hide he was in pain.

Ko gasped when his foot stomped on her stomach pushing her to the ground causing the shirken to dig deeper in her back. She managed to roll onto her side but gasped when he started to kick her torso continuously. "I can't lose to this guy, no way." She thought. Ko could feel blood in her mouth so she looked up at him spitting the blood into his eyes making him stumble backwards. While he was distracted, she formed seals.

"Earth style: Split Earth Turn Around Palm!" She shouted as she slammed her hand onto the ground.

The ground around the Anbu started to crack, slowly parting. Ko managed to put in more chakra making it spread around her opponent making the ground crumble beneath him. He managed to grab onto the ledge, but his wound was making it hard to hold on. He looked up seeing that Ko managed to crawl to the edge and wove more signs.

"Earth style: Rock thorn bed." She said channeling her chakra to the bottom of the pit.

Spikes formed at the bottom making the Anbu desperate to get out of there but with his injuries, it would take a miracle. Ko smiled down at him and lifted her kunai before striking it down on his hand making him release his grip falling to his death. Ko collapsed to the ground in exhaustion only being able to see the dead body of her enemy. The Anbu mask had fallen off revealing her attacker's young face; he was only a teenager.

When the three finally found the clearing Ko was in, they couldn't help but stare at the blood that covered the ground. There was a trail of blood leading to Ko, who was draped over a hole in the ground, with a shuriken lodged in her back unable to tell if she was alive or dead. Kabuto was the first to reach her carefully pulling out the shuriken hearing a cry shortly after.

"Finally, you guys got here." Ko said weakly followed by violently coughing up blood which landed on the face of the dead teen below her.

As Kabuto healed her wounds, Orochimaru and Sasuke walked to the hole seeing the dead body pierced by the spikes.

"Hm seems like you managed to take care of your opponent." Orochimaru commented.

"Tsunade didn't send them, it was a man named Danzo. He ordered them to capture me."

"Seems like Danzo has done his own research on you then. Either he wanted information on me or he wanted you to join his forces."

"Who is he?"

"That's for another day child, we need to move quickly to avoid the other four. Kabuto, is she almost healed?"

"Yes," He replied finishing up on Ko's stomach.

"Let's get moving then."

The four ran as fast as they could towards the border and were able to cross it without any more disturbances; they were finally in the land of Rice Patties. The path they took led them to a small town which looked abandoned, but they could sense people inside the rundown houses.

"What happened to this town?" Ko questioned remembering how beautiful it looked when she first arrived as a child.

"It's not my problem." Orochimaru replied hiding the fact that he knew he was responsible for it's condition.

Ko could feel the residents staring at them as they passed through the village which made her feel uneasy. She could tell that they were not welcomed and wanted to get out as soon as possible. Once they were out of the town, they took another path barely noticeable to the untrained eye. They walked for miles before finally reaching the Sound village.

"Finally, I'm home."

Edited: 12/20/2020