Fanart was a collab between Cantrona (deviantART) and myself.

I was curled up at Kakashi's side in his hospital bed. He was awake and reading his porn, but both of us were content in just allowing me to stay at his side. I was ridden with guilt at my behavior, shame dripping over me whenever I looked up and saw his bruises, and Kakashi's behavior didn't assuage my guilt in the slightest. He was acting like he deserved it.

I wondered if he secretly was a masochist.

Anyway, I had snuck into the hospital after hours and ended up sleeping in his room. I wanted to do something to make up for my behavior, for my overreaction, but it seemed like nothing would do the trick.

Still... it was nice...

Being able to relax with him again.

It was nice.

I wouldn't take it for granted ever again.

Kakashi was a precious person and I'd be damned if I ever pushed him away again.

('･ω･')

"I'm glad we can finally be team 7 again," Naruto said, piggybacking me. Don't ask why he was... he just... it was a spur of the moment type thing, okay?

"Mm-hmm," I agreed. "But I wonder what's going to happen next?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke inquired.

"I dunno. It almost feels like... Well, let's just say that for the moment I'm not sure where our future is going."

"Who cares?" Naruto asked, swinging his legs out and momentarily forcing me to lose balance. "We're all together again, we're currently going to a BBQ at Chōji's place—free food!—and all the other rookies are gonna be there... life is good."

"At the moment," Sasuke and I said immediately. We glanced towards each other.

"Quiet before the storm," Sasuke said. "It feels like that."

"Kind of," I agreed, "but at the same time... I feel... I feel like we're ready for it."

"'Course we are, we're team 7."

I had to smile at that.

"There you guys are."

The three of us paused together, turning our heads to find—

('･ω･')

I felt myself smiling fondly to myself as I assisted Naruto by packing. The boy was positively beaming.

Sasuke and Naruto were called to lead their very own separate missions. Naruto would be leading Hinata's team in assistance of acquiring a some rare beetle for the Aburame Clan and Sasuke would be leading his own team—though I wasn't as familiar with the members—for the race in the Land of Tea. Both of them were excited as it would be first real mission as Chūnin.

I myself would be going on a mission with Jiraiya to... look for a new lead.

We were being split up, true, but it was alright. We would see each other again. Naruto was taking a quick shower and I was packing for him—as I would be leaving after he was, so I wasn't in a rush. Sasuke was already packed and chewing on some tomatoes from our garden in the kitchen. After Naruto was out of the shower, he grabbed his pack and the three of us walked down to the front gates where I bid them farewell—as they would meet up with their teams there—before heading back to the apartment for some relaxation.

Back at the apartment, I curled up in my bed—we finally got two separate beds—and slipped off into a meditate state. It wasn't long before I found myself in that same forest.

Kurama was curled up, his head resting on his paws as he eyed me plainly.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked softly, maneuvering my way through the tall grass towards him.

Kurama sneered. "Why do you care?"

I gave him a funny look. "... You know why."

Kurama snorted softly, choosing not to respond. I hesitated a moment before making up my mind and moving closer towards him. He was watching me carefully, but not bothering to stop me, so I took it as permission. I reached out a hand towards him before my fingers brushed across soft fur. I felt myself smiling as I brought my other hand up to brush it against his fur on his paw.

Kurama gave a sigh, his hot breath blowing across me as he closed his eyes. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your precious Kakashi?"

"Why would I want that? It seems like it's been too long since I last talked with you," I said quietly, pressing my forehead against his fur. "Sorry I've been busy, but you haven't been talking to me either. You mad?"

"I'm always mad."

"You know what I meant."

"What would I be mad about?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

Kurama lazily opened one eye.

"I feel better," I confided quietly, my voice dropping down to a whisper. "I feel a lot better now. I'm glad he and I are on speaking terms, but I don't think... I don't think we could ever really be back where we used to be, you know? I think that I'll always doubt him in some way, but I'm going to try. Even if I get hurt... I'm going to keep on trying. Because I think... I think it could be so much worse. I know this life isn't amazing or as grand as I would have wanted it to be... but I'm still kind of glad I still got it, you know? Because it's my life and it's really... really not so bad."

I turned my head, pressing my left side of my face against him and looking up at him. "I mean, I have an amazing brother and I've got a good friend in Sasuke. Not to mention the others are coming around, too. I have a cool godfather and a super awesome technique that although is going to be hard to learn, I can still learn it. It'll still be mine. I had parents who loved me more than life itself and I've got a best friend."

"Oh? I don't recall you being friends with anyone else," Kurama mused.

"Don't tell me you're dismissing yourself so easily, Kurama," I said.

"You're joking."

I shrugged. "I'm very glad to have met you, Kurama."

Kurama sneered. "Of course you are; I am me. Who wouldn't want to meet me?"

I smiled. "Exactly. Anyway... I just wanted to make sure you're okay and all."

"I'm fine, brat."

"Good, I'm glad."

Kurama snorted a final time before turning his head away from me. "Now get out of here, brat. I want to go back to sleep."

I giggled.

('･ω･')

Now before I continue on with my story, I want to take this time now and say quite plainly—I rarely watched the anime of Naruto. Momma disapproved of television in general and with my poor health condition she thought it would only tax me, so very rarely was I given the privilege of a television in my room. Usually only to watch parent-approved movies or if there was something I desperately wanted to see.

Lala, big sister, brought the manga of Naruto to me and I was only able to watch the Canon!Manga anime shows, like the exams, the wave arc and some Shippuden. Fillers? Nope. Didn't happen. Movies, sometimes. Anything else that wasn't Canon, though? Na-uh.

Which was why, at the time, I really had no clue what would happen until Shippuden. It was a blank slate to me and in some ways... that both thrilled and terrified me.

('･ω･')

"So why are we going on this mission again, Jiraiya-sensei?" I asked, walking at a sedate pace beside him.

"As you are aware, Orochimaru struck at the Chūnin Exams, and we've already dealt with him once again on our search for Tsunade," Jiraiya began, "Our sources have confirmed that he runs Otogakure, but what we need to confirm is just how big of a threat his village is. Normally I would want to go on this one alone, but I think this will be a good time to train you as well."

"Train... me...? As in, you mean the Flying Thunder God? Because I can't train with Naruto around for another four months—that's when he's allowed in on the secret."

"That and... Naruto's told me you've been in contact with the beast."

I froze.

Jiraiya gave me a side-long glance. "I had my suspicions for a while. Back during the invasion, the report said you called upon its chakra with relative ease and you weren't worried about it afterwards. Didn't ask questions, didn't worry needlessly about it, and didn't even feel guilty about drawing upon it. So I looked further into it and found out about your first mission, Kakashi informed us that you drew upon it then as well and you seemed perfectly alright about that part."

"I..."

"Naruto didn't flat out tell me," Jiraiya continued. "But I can read between the lines rather well and I am a spymaster. Give the boy some credit, he's still only a Genin and not very good about lying to people he trusts."

My lips twitched into a wry smile. "I know."

"It's not a bad thing if you have," Jiraiya finished. "In Kumogakure there is a jinchūriki who is friends with his beast and he's force to be reckoned with. It is, however, a new concept in Konoha. We've never used our jinchūriki for the front line, or really for battle. The previous one was always treated with care in that aspect. I just want to make sure you aren't being tricked or..."

"His name is Kurama," I said. "We have a mutual agreement that I have no intentions of elaborating on. He shares his power with me due to this agreement and occasionally provides insight."

"It has... No... he has a name?"

"Yes."

"Ah... Interesting. I don't suppose...?"

I giggled at his decidedly uncomfortable look. "You may look at the seal whenever you wish. I... I did add a few seals of my own to it, but nothing to hinder the current one. I... I will allow you to look at them as well and if you have suggestions, I wouldn't reject them."

Jiraiya nodded, grinning sheepishly. "Alright. What do the seals do?"

"Direct communication and allows him to adjust his environment to something more comfortable than the preset sewer," I said dryly. "I trust that's not an issue."

"No, but it is a little nerve-wracking that you have been messing with the seal."

"I'm not going to do anything that would directly or indirectly hurt Naruto. You know that."

"True enough, I suppose. Back to the main topic, though, the Hokage and the council agree that any jinchūriki training should be done a safe distance from Konoha, and seeing how I'm the only seal master it should only be done in the company of me. I don't want to do any hardcore stuff yet, but I do want to grasp an idea on what needs to be done when... when it's time for the more hardcore training. And I won't have any other chance until... Well, I won't get another chance for a while," Jiraiya admitted.

"I understand. Still, this seems like a dangerous mission."

"Nah," Jiraiya dismissed. "We aren't planning to engage Orochimaru, this is just getting a feel for the village and gaging its power. If we do run into Orochimaru... Well, I doubt that will be the case. It's been just over... just over three years. He'll probably be off hiding in a little hole somewhere and having his aids just running around doing all the work."

I blinked at that, processing and finding it incredibly surprising.

Did that mean... Did that mean I had successfully managed to save Sasuke for another three years? I thought back and found myself incredibly... shocked. I would have thought Orochimaru would have desperately tried to steal Sasuke before his time limit was up, but then again... what could he have done? No doubt Jiraiya and the village knew of Orochimaru's lust for the Sharingan eyes so more than likely any sensitive information regarding Sasuke (like where his missions would take him, and such) was only seen by Sasuke's team and the most trusted—probably only Tsunade and Shizune, really. Orochimaru wouldn't have had a chance to plan out a capture. I suppose he could have sent his Sound Four into the village, but wait...

What Sound Four? The only real danger from them would have been Kiminaro and even then that would have been a rather large risk for Orochimaru to take. Send in Kimiaro and what was left of the Sound Four... low chance of not being killed and bodies used for Konoha's benefit (probably Danzō's), it just wasn't worth it.

Orochimaru was a smart man. Insane, yes, but smart. He knew he wasn't going to get Sasuke quite so soon with minimal risks, so he could be patient. Besides, as far as he thought, he had immortality and could patiently wait for as long as he needed to be.

From a pragmatic and logical viewpoint, it made perfect sense.

From a fan perspective where Orochimaru was nearly at every other corner as the antagonist and always after Sasuke it was... weird.

"I see," was all I said.

Jiraiya grinned and gave me an affectionate ruffle. "Good. But now that you mention it, it would probably be a good chance to train more on the Flying Thunder God."

"Hehe, alright. So where is Otogakure anyway?"

"I don't know, beats the hell out of me," Jiraiya admitted. "That's another main reason we've been sent on this mission, we need to find it."

"So... how do we find it?" I asked, my brow furrowed. "... I... I could sort through my memories and see if I could drudge up one of the Sound Four's scents to try and track them, but it's been months since..."

"You're not that good of a tracker," Jiraiya dismissed. "Any trails they would have left would be history by now. No, no... it's best if we just find the nearest town and gather information there."

"Hai, sensei."

('･ω･')

I stared at the ghost town. It reminded me vaguely of one of those western-cowboy towns that had been degraded and wasted away by time. I stared unimpressively at it, raising an eyebrow. "... There's no one here."

"Oh yes there is, can't you smell the perfume?"

"I didn't mean it literally. I just meant that there are far too little people here. This is a small, and thus likely a close town. The people here are going to be very familiar with each other and more than likely, not welcoming to strangers. I doubt they would be very keen to share information with us."

"Are you doubting me?" Jiraiya asked slyly.

I smiled slyly in return. "I am sure my sensei is a wonderful spymaster, but even this I do believe would be difficult to crack."

"Oh, yeah? Care to make a wager on that?"

I giggled. "Depends, what are you wagering?"

"Hmm... if I win—as in I could scrounge up the information we need—then you have to do whatever I say. One command, that's it. If you win—which you won't—then I have to do whatever you say, one command."

"Conditions being the command given cannot be anything illegal, immoral or harmful to another person," I added.

"Deal," Jiraiya agreed. "Now you go around town and wait for me on the other side. Here."

He tossed me his backpack and giant scroll. "Study if you want, I don't care. Just stay put in one area."

"Yeah, yeah..."

('･ω･')

An hour must have passed where I sat, my back against a rock with a single scroll rolled out onto my lap. I was rereading a rather confusing passage when the hairs along my neck rose and I caught a strange scent. Keeping my body relaxed, I casually moved the scroll off my lap, rolling it up and putting it away. Two more minutes passed before three kunai flew out of the bushes towards me. I leapt up into the air, annoyance flaring through me before my hands flew into seals.

"Raiton: False Darkness!"

The lightning completely obliterated the bushes and nearby trees, but the attacker had already rolled out of the bushes. They were wearing a mask that covered their entire head with the exception of their eyes, bright orange hair was pulled back into a spiky ponty tail along with a grey vest and khaki shorts.

I landed back on the ground as the attacker turned around. From their scent I could discern they were a female.

"Explain yourself," I ordered. "A Genin for Orochimaru?"

Her eyes widened and annoyance flashed through her eyes. She held up a black ball before throwing it to the ground, smoke erupting from it. Her scent vanished along with it, and when the smoke, cleared spikes covered the ground. I could still track her, however. Her scent wasn't entirely gone. Just as I was about to pursue, a strained cry called out towards me.

"M-Miwako!"

I turned my head, pausing, just in time for Jiraiya to come running towards me, pure horror on his face. Followed behind him—rather far behind him as Jiraiya was going pretty fast—was a mob of angry men.

"... What did you do?" I asked just as Jiraiya grabbed his supplies and grabbed me—throwing me over his shoulder and sprinting as fast as he could without using chakra.

"Why—aren't—we—using—ninjutsu—or—genjutsu—on—them?" I asked as I bobbed up and down, trying and failing to get a comfortable position slung over Jiraiya's shoulder.

"Because this—is supposed to be—a secret mission—we can't blow—our cover!"

"A—Ah!"

('･ω･')

"I told you," I sung.

We had managed to shake off the bodyguards after a while, and eventually found an old run down shack. Jiraiya gave me an annoyed look, rolling out his map of the land.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jiraiya muttered. "What are you going to do? Make me stop writing porn?"

"No, that would be mean—you love that stuff," I dismissed, ignoring his rather beaming look at me. "And I won't make you stop peeking on girls because I can't imagine you not peeking on them. I'll think of something, but it'll probably be along the lines of assistance more than anything."

"Phew. Glad I lost the bet to you. Hate to think what would have happened if I had lost it to Naruto or worse... Tsunade."

"If you lost a bet to Tsunade, it would inevitably mean the world was ending."

"Or something akin to it," Jiraiya muttered. "Now just pass this base, we'll reach the most bustling town in this land. Or well, one of them. Let's go!"

('･ω･')

I stared, once again unimpressed, at the town.

It wasn't a dump. It was at first glances a regular busy town. Only there were drunks all over the street, brawls breaking out, men randomly punching each other... I rubbed my forehead in mild annoyance.

"... We aren't going to just pass on through, are we?"

Jiraiya giggled and I followed his gaze, following it to another one of the... uh... friendly bars.

"Alright, here," Jiraiya said, tossing me a sack of... something. "I want you to get some food and wait on the other side of town for me. Information tends to gather in places like this, but I won't corrupt the eyes of the innocent. I'll sacrifice myself and see what I can dig up around here."

"... Jiraiya-sensei, I know you're a pervert and I know you're mainly doing this for fun so there's no need to try and lie to me. I know that about you and I like you anyway," I said.

Jiraiya stared at me another moment before he reached out and ruffled my hair. "... If only you were older... and not my previous student's daughter... Well... definitely older at least."

I rolled my eyes. "Take your time. I still have plenty of scrolls to look over."

"Thank you!"

('･ω･')

A little ways outside the village, I continued walking along the dirt path, idly chewing on my food as I headed back to the shack. It wasn't too far into my walk did the attacker from before roll out of the bushes, stumbling a bit. When she noticed me, her eyes widened and she clutched at her shoulder.

Immediately tensing, I inhaled the sharp scents and discerned the others. In the same instance, I could detect a foul scent that clung to her—infection most likely. And the other scents were closing in on us, most likely after her.

I toyed with idea of just leaving. It wasn't my fight and I didn't want it to be. She attacked me first, but...

I could practically hear Naruto shouting that something was up and this girl needed my help, and that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the bad one in this.

My hands flew up to seals.

"Raiton: False Darkness!"

One of her attackers lurched out of the forest just in time for my attack to hit him. He seized once before falling to the ground, unconscious or dead, I couldn't tell. But from the way his skin crackled and burned, I assumed dead. I grabbed the girl, ignoring her gasp of pain as I pulled my hands close together once again to form more seals. Using my favorite genjutsu, to the eyes of all enemies we disappeared into a storm of yellow and orange petals.

('･ω･')

I knew we were being followed, that we were being tracked. It would have taken an idiot not to have noticed the blatant webs and to have smelled their sticky sourness. I also knew we needed information and from the way this girl moved, I knew she was a kunoichi. From that I could conclude they were shinobi of sorts—as no ordinary civilian could take down a kunoichi or shinobi, at least not just three of them.

From that first attack, and how easily the first one had fallen prey to it, I also concluded they were rather weak and idiotic. I saw no real threat from them, and as such I felt safe in allowing them to track me. I only wanted a chance to take care of the girl and see if I could scrounge up information on my own before Jiraiya returned. Besides, worst case scenario, I popped out Kurama and destroyed half the land, thus blowing our cover.

I can't tell if you're joking or not on that.

Of course I'm joking.

But I didn't think it would come to that at all.

I had already removed her vest and applied the appropriate ointments to the wound, wrapping it as well and draping the vest over her more... feminine assets. It wasn't long after I finished did she awake with a startle, her eyes flying open and sitting upright in a flash.

Her vest fell off and she gasped, covering herself quickly.

"Don't worry," I said. "It's just me. I treated your injury and already bandaged it, so just hold still for a while until the medicine has done its job."

"I—I—I see," she managed, blushing brightly as she removed her mask and pulled her vest on. "M-My name is Fūma Sasame."

"Uzumaki Miwako," I returned. "I'm afraid I must ask, though, why those shinobi from before were chasing you, seeing how I already killed one of them."

"Y-You did?!" Sasame gasped, her eyes widening. "I... see. You must be very strong then."

How wrong she is.

Thanks for your vote of confidence.

You know I'm right. The only difference between you and them was that you were actually trained to be a shinobi, you are an actual kunoichi and they are merely drop-out scum.

I wasn't sure if I was to take that as a compliment to myself, or an insult to them.

"They are guards for Orochimaru, they are from Otogakure. I thought you were in league with them the other day, I'm sorry."

My eyes widened. "You don't say? Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything else at all?"

Sasame hesitated. "Well, all of this began when the Feudal Lord of the Land of Rice tried to expand his sway over the neighboring countries. This country is a small territory, we haven't all that many shinobi. It was a fool-hearty attack. Our defeat was clear from the outset, and the shinobi clans of this country that participated all fell into ruin. We of the Fūma, were no exception. I am told of the survivors, some decided to abandon this land while others have stooped to common thievery. Even so, many of us have struggled on in the shadows, praying for the day our clan could be restored."

She took a deep breath. "It was then that an emissary from Otogakure appeared, offering the promise of the first full-scale shinobi village in this land. He said that if we impressed his lord, Orochimaru, we would be given the chance to serve under the Feudal Lord. My cousin, Arashi, was seen as our clan's best hope for revival, he was chosen as our representative and set out for Otogakure with their emissary, but..."

Sasame looked away, wiping tears away from her eyes. "We just kept waiting for some sort of message to come from Arashi, but there's... even now... there's still no word from him."

I paused at this, digesting it.

"I'm going to save Arashi!" She burst out. "I don't have any real strength, and I'm small and no matter how hard I tried I was nothing, but a burden during training. But no matter how many times I faltered, Arashi was always there for me. Everyone from my village had already given up, but I'm going to find Otogakure... I will save him!"

I frowned at her words, unsure of how to react. I could understand her reasoning. When I really thought back and compared myself to Naruto, I was, but a small fry to what he would be. His shadow overlapped me entirely and sometimes it made me feel small and insignificant, but I was never bothered by it. He was my brother, my twin. I wanted him to grow and grow, but more than anything I wanted to be there to support him. I wanted to be his reason for growing, his tool in a way, his pillar. He was the only reason I could still smile in this world and I would do anything for him.

She... She must have felt the same way, in some manner. At least in the sense of wanting to protect her precious person, but still...

The more pragmatic side of me wanted to dismiss her claims and be on my way. After all, I did have my information...

But...

But...

The annoying little brat of a brother of yours is starting to rub off on you?

It couldn't hurt, could it? To help her out?

"Then I guess I have no choice, but to help you," I said finally.

Her eyes widened and she gave me a watery smile.

That was about when a spider fell down onto Sasame's shoulder. My eyes noticed the familiar web and I looked up towards the ceiling.

My eyes widened and I shuddered. The entire ceiling was covered in spiders.

"No," I denied. "No. Fuck. No. Fuck that shit. No."

I grabbed Sasame's hands and kicked open the door to the shack. The entire front area was covered in thick silky threads.

"No," I denied again. "Fuck. No."

My hands flew up into for-the-moment favorite ninjutsu.

"Raiton: False Darkness!"

The lightning, burning intensely hot, naturally lit up the threads. I directed its power in the general direction of trees before us, where it obliterated a fair share of them as well as the ground.

"Stay here," I told her, allowing myself to dissolve from my genjutsu.

Honestly, it was just so sad how they didn't expect me to be able to smell them. Like, really? Did you honestly not take into account that I was a tracker or sensory of type when I first eliminated one of you? Seriously?

I say we just kill them and be done with it.

We need more information.

Only one of them needs to be alive for that.

... Too true.

The one partially underground was the nearest one and having disguised myself with my genjutsu, he didn't see me coming. I took my kunai, slamming the bunt of it into the back of his head and effectively knocking him out. The other one—the spider one—actually noticed me knocking his buddy unconscious, he grimaced before deciding to make a hasty retreat.

I toyed with the idea of pursuing him, but decided against it. Hopefully this one would suffice.

Actually, that one's dead.

No, he isn't, I know I only applied... What the hell? I didn't him hard, did I?

No. You applied the correct force and hit the correct area to render him unconscious, but do you see the back of his head? He already has an injury in the spot you hit him.

... Oh... Oh... I feel... I feel bad about that now. Why didn't I...?

Lesson learned, and a rather important one, too. Still, better to have learned it now than on something really important. Always check for old injuries.

That's... that's kind of a morbid lesson to learn, and a morbid way to learn it.

I suppose.

I shrugged, still feeling decidedly uncomfortable that I had successfully accidently killed a man, but chose to check on Sasame instead. She had apparently watched the entire display from the front of the shack, her eyes wide as she stared at me. "Is he...?"

"Dead, yes. But I swear I didn't mean to do it that time. These guys are just... they're just a lot weaker than what I'm used to," I muttered.

"And what happened here?"

I turned around, raising both eyebrows. "Sensei, I have information regarding our mission."

"Funny, so do I," Jiraiya said. "Come on, let's get on the road and we can fill each other in on the way."

I held out my hand towards Sasame, and with a shy smile she took it.

"Thank you," Sasame said.

I blushed. "W-Whatever."

('･ω･')

As it turned out, Jiraiya's information—or what he told me, but I had a feeling there was more to it than he was letting on—was that he had run into some Fūma clan people as well. Anyway, long story short he said they were of no help and then Sasame said that if we really wanted to find Orochimaru's hideout, she could take us.

So off we were, hopping through trees and following behind Sasame.

We stopped short of a mountain base where Sasame informed us that Otogakure was deep within them. We paused for a short break at lunch where Jiraiya began to dig in with gusto.

I stared, unimpressed, at the large spread of food.

"I-I know, I'll go make us some tea," Sasame said.

I glanced at Jiraiya. "You're sure... You're sure she wants to sell us out?"

"Are you doubting me?" Jiraiya asked.

"Not in this," I admitted, "but I don't think she means harm."

"No, I doubt she does. More than likely she'll try and slip a paralysis powder in our drinks. Just pretend to drink it and pass out. Then we'll see who she's working with."

('･ω･')

As it was, it was the original trio that attempted to 'capture' her, though it was down to just one lone man. The moment Sasame realized he was going to attempt to kill me; she took a stand saying that was not what they had agreed on. He had tossed her aside and that was when I had stopped pretending to be asleep, caught her weakened body and sneered at the wanna-be shinobi.

"Sensei? Shall you handle him, or shall I?" I ask.

Jiraiya snorted. "We need him alive, Miwako-chan."

"I didn't mean to!"

Jiraiya gave me a dry look. "I'll handle him. And I'll be the one to extract the questions. You just take care of the girl."

"Hai, sensei."

But when we both turned around to look for the guy... he was gone.

I blinked. "... How much you want to bet he was stupid enough to head straight back to the real hideout?"

"I'm not taking that bet," Jiraiya said.

('･ω･')

"What should we do with her?" I asked Jiraiya as Sasame slowly came to a conscious state.

"Hanzaki, the man that gave me the information, is quite worried about you, Sasame," Jiraiya said, staring at the girl. "He was concerned about how you might leave the clan to go after Arashi. Therefore, you will go back to him and wait for our return."

"I-I'm sorry, for everything," Sasame said quietly. "Th-Thank you for giving me this..."

"Whatever," I muttered, feeling my cheeks warm again under her gaze. In a way I could understand. If she could turn us into Orochimaru, she'd get to see her cousin. To her, we were strangers essentially. I'd do the same for one of my own precious people.

"Can you track him, Miwako-chan?" Jiraiya asked, glancing towards me.

"Oh yes," I said. "I'm ready whenever you are, sensei."

"Then let's go."

('･ω･')

Jiraiya and I sat outside the entrance of the base. He bent down, biting his tumb and summoning Gamikichi. "We need you to go ahead of us and check out the base."

"Sure thing, boss," Gamikichi said.

A few tunnels into the base, we were forced to stop, staring down at three separate tunnels.

"Now what?" I asked.

"I guess we have no choice, but to split up. If you don't find anything in thirty minutes, come straight back here," Jiraiya said, eying the tunnels. "If you do find something... make a ruckus, I'll come. Or you know, just kill 'em."

"I didn't mean to!" I cried out.

Jiraiya only grinned at me, ruffling my hair. He took the one on the right while I took the one in the middle and Gamikichi went down the left.

('･ω･')

Am I the only one who's getting increasingly anxious that the only trouble we've had were painfully obvious traps?

No. This seems way too easy.

So much for an S-Ranked mission. This is just...

I stopped in front of a large oaken door, holding out my flare towards it. The door creaked open, revealing flickering lights. My stomach flip-flopped and I capped my flare before cautiously sniffing into the room.

At the familiar scent, my body stiffened significantly.

"Oh? Why isn't it Miwako? It's been a while."

I snorted, entering the room and staring at Kabuto with open indifference.

"Kabuto," I said evenly, "I do hope you're not too sore about that punch."

"I do hope you're not too sore about being knocked unconscious," Kabuto returned.

"From behind. By a Jōnin-level shinobi," I said blandly. "Oh yes. That's quite embarrassing."

Kabuto's eyes narrowed.

It was then that a raspy laugh filled the room.

Fear crawled up my spine and I felt my heart quicken considerably. Slowly, stiffly, I turned my gaze towards the voice and found my eyes meeting Orochimaru's.

Oh. Oh. Oh.

Well this should prove interesting.

Oh fuck. Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.

Orochimaru laughed again. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure of actually meeting, little one."

"Uzumaki Miwako," I whispered, my eyes never leaving his, straying from the most lethal person in the room. "You killed my grandfather."

"And you killed and crippled half of my Sound Four," Orochimaru retorted, eying me. "Impressive, really. A shame that you're incapable of serving as a host, but I suppose it is for that very same reason that made you so lucky."

I shuddered.

"As fun as it would be to watch you squirm, I do have other matters to attend to," Orochimaru purred. "Kabuto, in-capacitate her. I always wanted my own jinchūriki."

I shivered, taking a step back as I watched Orochimaru leave. Kabuto gave me a leer. "Yes, my lord."

... Now would be a wonderful time for Jiraiya to burst in here and get us the hell outta here.

How much you want to bet he won't until the very last minute when the majority of the mess is taken care of?

... Well, shit.

I promptly 'dissolved' in a storm of petals, disappearing from Kabuto's view and planting myself up on the ceiling. Moving quickly, I began to plant paper bombs across it while Kabuto frantically searched for me. When I was finished, I hopped down onto one of the pillars, pulling out some shinobi-wire.

Alright. I have a pretty good idea on what I need to do. Now it's just a matter of executing it.

I tied the special wire between two pillars before making myself known to Kabuto by hurtling myself towards him. Kabuto sneered at me, easily blocking my first attack. His hand snapped out, aiming for me, but something was different.

Why wasn't he using chakra scalpels?

The blue chakra blades that Kabuto was so renowned for. Why wasn't he using them...?

I ducked underneath his second fist and I noticed as well that he wasn't as fast as he was when I first fought him. Or as strong for that matter. I sidestepped and twisted around him before landing a solid kick on his back, hurtling him towards the wire.

The wires caught him, snapping from their hold on the pillars and effectively wrapping them around him. Kabuto fell to the floor, wrapped tightly in the wire while I flickered towards him.

"Who are you really?" I demanded.

Kabuto laughed.

I grabbed at his face, my fingers digging into the so definitely not real skin and pulling back to reveal...

The spider man. The one from before. The one that somehow lived my onslaught of the trio.

I blinked.

"... Why did you disguise yourself as Kabuto?" I asked incredulously.

He sneered at me.

"... Well, I don't need you for information and frankly, that whole spider bit was just unnecessary," I said, holding up a kunai towards him.

His sneer faltered.

I jabbed the blunt of the kunai over his head, and he fell unconscious.

I double checked. He was definitely unconscious, not dead.

"But maybe Ibiki would want you or something," I muttered. "Or Anko. I don't know."

"M-Miwako-san?"

My eyes widened and I turned around to find Sasame. "S-Sasame-san? What are you...?"

"I was worried, so I came after you," Sasame confessed, blushing and looking away. "I-I'm sorry, but I just..."

I hesitated. "It's... fine, but we should probably go ahead and try and find Jiraiya-sensei now. I thought I found someone... someone not so awesome, so it would be in our best interest to head back now and regroup. Then again, I thought this one was Kabuto, so the other one might not have been..."

"But what about Arashi?"

I shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, what about me?"

We turned around.

Sasame gasped.

I frowned. ... That was too convenient. This mission has been too convenient. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.

"A-Arashi-kun, what have you done to yourself?"

Before us was a monstrous thing that looked just flat out grotesque, with faces sticking out from behind its hunched back and white, white eyes with veins bulging out... Just... nasty.

"Call me crazy," I said slowly, "but I do not believe that thing is Arashi."

"It has to be!" Sasme cried out. "Arashi, please. What happened to you?"

I placed a hand on her shoulder, gently guiding her behind me. "Sasame-san, this isn't a fantasy. He's not going to just magically come back down. What Orochimaru has done is mess with his very DNA structure. He is not Arashi."

"Arashi..."

"Sasame-san," I repeated.

Sasame's bottom lip trembled as her eyes watered over.

I turned away from her pleading eyes, shaking my head. I wrapped my arms around her and to him, we dissolved away.

I guided Sasame away and out of the room, sighing. "... Fine. Fine. Stay here. I will... I will render him unconscious if I can and maybe we can see if Tsunade-sama can do something about him, alright? Just... Just stay put."

I turned away, ignoring her positively ecstatic smile.

Besides, I'm sure the village wouldn't mind a chance to take a closer look at what Orochimaru has been up to. While I can't promise Tsunade could completely save the boy, I can promise that she and I will try. Orochimaru has already ruined so many others lives'. It would be nice to see one put back on the right path.

I lunged above him, landing on the ceiling and quickly forming my seals.

Raiton: False Darkness.

The lightning erupted from my mouth and slammed into the grotesque hunchback of the boy once by the name of Arashi. He cried out in pain and stumbled away, turning his head up to scowl furiously at me.

"You took that hit with no problem," I observed. "Good. Then you should survive what I have in store for you."

Arashi laughed. "Do you honestly think you can beat me?!"

I didn't reply, leaping away from the ceiling and out of the room, grabbing Sasame and—when did Gamikachi show up?—Gamikachi. I held up my fingers, throwing a single chakra emblazed kunai towards the ceiling where it hit the first explosive tag.

I leapt back and watched as the entire room collapsed down upon him.

"Arashi!" Sasame cried out.

"He'll live," I muttered.

You think.

... I think.

When the dust cleared, the three of us leapt atop the pile of rubble. Sniffing carefully, I was able to find his body relatively easily.

I peered between the cracks, staring down at him.

"... Alive, breathing, but unconscious."

"Well now, looks like the party's already over."

I straightened up, scowling furiously at Jiraiya who was looking down at us from above the crater I had essentially made.

I pointed at him. "You have awful timing. Seriously. Where the hell were you ten minutes ago?"

"Sorry, sorry, was a bit caught up."

"You're a Sannin!" I shrieked. "Nothing less than another Sannin should keep you hold up in a mission like this."

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "... Sorry."

"... Wh-What are you going to do now about Arashi?" Sasame asked tentatively.

"Depends," I said carefully. "Do you mind coming back to Konoha with us? I think our Hokage, Tsunade-sama, could help him, but if you don't want..."

"I'll do anything!" Sasame said quickly. "Just, please... Arashi..."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at me.

"Orochimaru experimented on him and now he's some kind of mutant," I explained.

"I'm sure Tsunade-hime will be interested to know in what Orochimaru has been up to, very well, we'll take him back to Konoha with us."

"And I can come, too, right?"

"Sure, sure," Jiraiya dismissed. "Now enough of this, let's get out of here kiddies."