Ode to an Avenger

Ode to An Avenger

Part 04: React


“Speaking”

/Thoughts/

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Drip the blood slowly onto the scroll. Let it settle over the seals drawn there, in blood (so much blood) and see it darken, on the scroll, as it is accepted and enhanced and powered, blood by blood. Open the next scroll, take up the next container of blood, and repeat the same procedure for Anko’s scroll.

Kabuto watched silently as Orochimaru went through the process of his ‘Curse Summoning’ jutsu. The sennin actually looked pleased, borderline happy, a small smile playing around the edge of his mouth. For him, this was extreme giddiness. But Kabuto said nothing, instead turning to make sure their genjutsu was still strong (it was) and making sure there was nothing going on that shouldn’t be (there wasn’t).

“Am I boring you, Kabuto?” Low voice, tone giving nothing away. Kabuto turned back to see Orochimaru sitting back on his heels, the two scrolls in front of him dark and soaked with blood. Kabuto shook his head.

“Of course not, Orochimaru-sama,” he replied, mentally reminding himself /Don’t give a reason unless he asks; that shows you have a guilty conscience./

Orochimaru said nothing, instead standing and facing due south, the direction Konoha lay in, far enough that they still could not see it, but close enough that he could taste his victory. He smirked and brought his bloodied fingers up to his mouth, tongue dipping out to lick off the red spots. He sighed at the familiar taste of Sasuke and Anko’s blood, regretfully pulling his tongue back in and drying his hand on his robe.


“It’s all up to Tsunade now,” Orochimaru said quietly, eyes slitted and glowing yellow in the twilight around them. For once, he was oh so grateful for his old teammate’s saviour complex, and what she considered ‘vast knowledge’ of his work. That, he knew, would prove to be her downfall, and his triumph.

It was all a matter of time.


------


He pushed off of Neji’s knees, flipping to a safe distance away. They both stood, taking in the other’s appearance and silently agreeing to call an end to their long training session. Since Neji had come, Sasuke had thrown himself into their fights, never leaving a moment to just stop and breathe. Which made Neji pleased, and he returned the favour with great enthusiasm, deciding to ignore the fact that Sasuke’s eyes were wild, and his moves were more vicious and accurate, and that he seemed to be fighting someone else.


When they were done, panting slightly, Sharingan and Byakugan dissipating from their eyes, they were both pleased at the feeling each held in their cores, the feeling of accomplishment, and respect, and quiet joy. Other couples may express their love for each other by hanging onto each other, or spending every single second together, or molesting each other in public or private; but for Neji and Sasuke, being able to test their strengths and weaknesses against each other, they bonded and connected more closely than they could if they were to ravage each other at home.

Which, once they went home and showered, would do, but they had some semblance of restraint while they did so, and therefore preserved their dignity and self-respect. Both of which they held very dear, alongside their pride and tact. They were living examples of the perfect gentleman, only downside being they murdered as a way of life and this, for some reason, out-weighed their redeeming qualities.

Sasuke tensed his muscles in his arms, trying to get the rubbery feeling out and shake away the loose sensation. He saw Neji discreetly wiping the blood from the small cut Sasuke had managed to mar his chin with when he’d caught him in a genjutsu. Sasuke decided he liked his eyes for giving him advantages. He also decided that he would not dwell on anything that had happened before this training session. What he had done –or hadn’t done– could not be changed, or remedied. Worrying over what might happen in near future did nothing but make his heart work harder to keep him alive, stressing him out, so he ignored all of these things and focused his attention on his boyfriend standing so unaware in front of him.

Neji looked up when he felt Sasuke coming closer but said nothing. He could taste blood in his mouth where the hilt of a kunai had smacked into his cheekbone and was consequently bruising noticeably. A cool hand reached up and traced a pattern over the dark brown spot, softly so as not to hurt it. Deep black eyes were watching the progress of the hand carefully, but no regret was seen in them. That was good, that was what Neji and Sasuke always agreed on: never hurt one another to the point of regret. They never did.


Neji turned toward the touch, and then warm lips were on his, enveloping them completely and sucking lightly. He pushed his tongue out and it was met with another, which subsequently pushed his own back in his mouth and followed it, to explore the already discovered crevices and delve deep into the warm wet cavern. He wrapped an arm around Sasuke’s waist and pulled him closer, felt the tongue slide over his back teeth and he shivered lightly, because his teeth had always and would always be his most sensitive spot. He knew Sasuke knew this, and he used it to his full advantage whenever he could.

Sasuke smirked into the kiss when he felt the arm around his waist tighten and the soft gasp as he ran his tongue over Neji’s teeth. They broke apart, only for a moment, long enough to breathe and then come back together, lips hot and wet and running over each other. Somewhere in the back of his mind Sasuke realized that he had lost control of this kiss, and Neji was leading it, but he was only too happy to go with the flow.


There was a burning heat that travelled through his body; coursing inside and out, like liquid fire that had been sprayed out and was making its’ presence known all throughout him, and Sasuke welcomed it, loving how he felt, powerful and vibrant and wholly pleased with it. Until he noticed that the heat was hurting, and it now felt more like an iron vice held over flames was being wrapped around his whole body and squeezing the breath out of him, and it hurt and burned everywhere and all he could think was what the hell? before he wrenched his way free from Neji’s grip, knowing it would be wise to just move.

“Sasuke, what–“ Neji’s question was cut off as he stared, clearly not expecting to see what was so blatantly staring him in the face. Sasuke, covered with the curse seal, that ran rampant over his body like wisps of smoke that was caressing him, spreading out and burning itself into every inch of flesh that Neji could see.


Sasuke stood back from him, fists clenched at his sides, eyes shut and teeth gritting, in an effort to fight down the seal. His breathing quickened even as he felt the pain in the crooks of his elbows, and he wondered what the hell was happening and why he couldn’t stop it, and he dimly heard Neji. Fingers so tightly pressed into his palms they felt as though they would break, his temples throbbing and lungs aching from the deep breaths he took.


He became aware of cool dirt pressing to his knees and clinging there, and then he was digging his fingers into the soft ground and trying to fight back this damned seal, because it was hurting and he couldn’t think or see, even though he knew his eyes were open, just knew it, but all he saw was a black haze that threatened to engulf his mind. In his mind he was angrily yelling and cursing, because it should not be this hard to keep down, but all he could manage aloud was a low moan, as the fire ripped and burned into his skin, and sank into his bones, and seeped into his eyes.

A firm grip on his upper left arm and he knew Neji was there, a low humming filling Sasuke’s ears as the other spoke to him, but he couldn’t make sense of the words so he forced himself to listen, hoping that would help.

“–to me. Sasuke! Can you hear me? Just listen, try to focus.”


Panic-induced tones, and Sasuke could hear it all clearly. “I...hear you,” he said through gritted teeth. “I–“


He stopped as he felt his chakra tear through his body, as though some unseen force had stuck a straw in him and was sucking it out and distributing it all around him. It pooled in him and flew around him, burning through every fibre of his being and tearing, hurting, burning, and through all this he tried to latch onto the grip on his arm, the steadying voice at his side, but it wasn’t helping.


So Sasuke pulled away from Neji, and leapt back, legs and arms shaking like crazy as the seal re-acquainted itself with his body. He forced his eyes to stay open, to see past the hovering darkness, focussed on Neji who was standing and looking concerned, even as he moved forward. And just as soon as it started, the pulsing heat stopped, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes so all he could see was Neji, and the heat faded and the pain was very faint, like a gentle nudge at his subconscious.

He could breathe easier now, and he felt the sweat that covered his hands and forehead, but as he glanced down he still saw the curse seal spread around his body, still fritzing with chakra, still burning but at a more tolerable pace. Neji moved forward but didn’t come as close as he usually would, instead staring with the Byakugan and frowning at what he saw but saying nothing.


Neji saw the disrupted chakra flow, and he could still feel the air humming with the chakra that seemed to radiate off of Sasuke, and he found himself at a loss as for what he was supposed to do, the first time he had felt like that for many years now. Seeing Sasuke stand there, breathing with shuddering breaths gave him an insight as to what he should do. First: don’t panic, he could take control of this situation as well as he’d taken control of that kiss.

“Sasuke? We need to go see the Hokage,” Neji said slowly, wondering how much of this Sasuke could hear. He’d seen this change in him before, many times over the years, following the first time he had witnessed it, in the Forest of Death. And it still disturbed Neji to see Sasuke so changed and brimming with a dark aura, and the dark chakra that wrapped around him.

Sasuke looked as though he was about to answer, when he suddenly fell to his knees and toppled forward, landing face down in the moist earth. Unconscious. Even now the seal remained vividly spread across his body, no longer moving but simply staining the white skin.


Neji picked him up, fighting the rising panic. It would be all right, he told himself. He would take Sasuke to see the Hokage, who would use that scroll jutsu to counter the effects of this damn seal, and once that was taken care of, he was taking a leave of absence to murder a certain sennin. Very bloodily.

Just as he turned to depart Naruto landed beside him, eyes wide and hair mussed from the high speeds he had obviously travelled at. He took one look at Sasuke and Neji and gave a quick nod.

“Tsunade said to come right now, the same thing’s happened to Anko,” Naruto explained as he and Neji leapt into the air and began to make their way over to the Hokage’s tower. At the intersection that offered the choice of entering the heart of the town where the tower was located among many buildings, or heading west to the edge of the city, Naruto stopped.

“I need to tell the ANBU...” Neji was already running as soon as the words left Naruto’s mouth, intent on getting Sasuke to the Hokage’s office. He was worried about Sasuke, who was still and pale in his arms. And he was worried about Anko, because she had gone through the same thing. And he was just plain worried, because it had occurred to him early on that this might be the results of what Orochimaru had planned.


Neji put on a burst of speed when the tower came into view, and he was up the stairs and into the Hokage’s office seconds later. He had great motivation.


Inside, he was met with many others there for the same reason: Sakura and Kakashi were there, as well as Shizune, Asuma and Gai standing next to Anko who was in the same situation as Sasuke. Tsunade turned and skipped formalities, instead beckoning Neji forward, to place Sasuke next to Anko on the thick mat on the floor.

The scrolls that Tsunade had spent the better part of the day preparing were finished. The black ink shone wetly in the lighted room, it’s characters still fresh. Neji lay Sasuke next to Anko then stepped back to examine the scrolls. Each held an identical mark to the ones that Sasuke and Anko bore, and drawn around were various sealing prayers.


Shizune knelt next to the Hokage, laying flat the scrolls, and pulling out a slim silver blade. Tsunade took the blade and only when she began to cut into Sasuke’s left palm did Neji see Anko’s left palm, cut very much the way Sasuke’s was going to be.


Where finger bone met palm, there were slits, travelling down to the middle of the hand and meeting in a V-shape. Bright red blood had pooled in the center of her palm, and was slowly dripping off the sides of Anko’s hand. The same design was being cut into Sasuke’s left hand, and Tsunade explained as she worked.

“This is the best way to get the blood out quickly enough so I can work faster, but it also prevents an excess amount of blood from coming.” /Plus it leaves kind of cool scars./ She sat back and brought the two scrolls closer, each shining with a replica of Orochimaru’s seal. Sasuke’s was next to him, likewise for Anko. She kneeled in the middle of the two unconscious shinobi and waved Shizune in.

Taking Anko’s hand, Tsunade pressed the bloodied palm flat over the inked seal, Shizune mirroring the action with Sasuke. Written spells cancelled out any spoken, and all in the room waited with bated breath, anxious to see if there would be any positive results.


The seals on the paper spun madly, and the curse marks on their bodies copied, spinning pointlessly until, slowly, they began to retreat to their positions on the shoulder. The sealings written around the marks on the paper dissipated before their eyes, and were absorbed into the cut palms, re-appearing moments later around the marks on Sasuke and Anko’s skin.

Tsunade had commissioned Kakashi to perform, to the best of his ability, curse sealing jutsus, on each of the scrolls, because she had explained it would be easier to use. Hopefully.


Now Kakashi peered down at Sasuke and Anko, particularly on their curse marks. He knew how easy it could be for his jutsu to not work, as Sasuke had proven years ago. But he felt more confident this time around. As long as Orochimaru did nothing to further antagonize either seal bearer, he figured they would hold out. He just didn’t know for how long. Definitely not indefinitely.


Tsunade sighed and stood after wiping the blood and closing up the cut hands. “To all affects and purposes, this should work. I don’t see why it wouldn’t, but with him...” she refrained from saying Orochimaru’s name. She shrugged.

“Well, you can never tell. I’d say just leave them at home, I’ve postponed both their missions for a week; we’ll see how it is after that. They may need constant reinforcing. Asuma and Neji, you are also excused in order to keep watch for the next week.” Neji felt the small smile grow on his face. Oh, how he wished Sasuke would make a quick recovery, even if his hopes were for a different reason than just his health.

“So Asuma will be staying with Uchiha, and Neji with Anko.”


/Excuse me?/


Tsunade shook her head at Asuma and Neji’s identical surprised and put out looks. “Honestly, you’d think you two would have more tolerance...and senses of humour. Living arrangements will be as usual. Now, Neji, I need to know about the reaction of his seal,” Tsunade moved quickly from one topic to the next abruptly enough that Neji needed a moment to register the change.


“We were training out near cell D. Though he didn’t use Chidori, just the Sharingan. We were heading back when it activated, and he lost consciousness. I met up with Naruto, and brought him here.” Neji decided to keep their after-training activities a secret. Surely that wasn’t imperative knowledge.

Tsunade nodded then gestured to Anko. “Anko was with Gai and Asuma at the time, also actively using her chakra, that could be what set them off, but I smell a snake. Did you notice anything...off, I guess, around your training area? Perhaps a certain chakra that doesn’t belong here?”

“I’m sorry, Hokage-sama,” Neji frowned, “it must have slipped my mind. There had been someone with him before I came; I could sense them. But whoever it was hadn’t done anything, and Sasuke didn’t say anything, so I did not question it.”


“Any idea who it may have been?” At her prompting Neji cast his mind back to the cool chakra that had seemed to fill the air when he had met Sasuke. It was almost familiar, a tug on his mind that amounted to nothing. He sighed, annoyed with himself for not paying closer attention at the time.

“No. I apologize, but I did not recognize it.” Tsunade sighed again, but shook her head after.

“No matter, I suppose. If it was Orochimaru I would have known, so...” she lapsed into a thoughtful silence, mulling over what Neji had told her. Something in her mind clicked, and she cursed her slow reflexes.


“Did you say you met up with Naruto?” Neji looked up from where he had knelt next to Sasuke and nodded slowly, failing to see the reason for the tight look the Hokage’s face had taken on. “Shizune, am I crazy, or...”

Shizune frowned also, a puzzled look on her face. “Yes, Tsunade-sama. I thought you had sent Naruto to retrieve Jiraiya-sama from Hidden Rock earlier.”


“Did ‘Naruto’ tell you where he was going, Neji?” Tsunade switched to a crisp manner, looking rather put out. Neji stood and nodded once.


“Yes, he said he had to tell the ANBU...”he trailed off as she turned to Kakashi.

“Would you go to ANBU headquarters and ask if Naruto had been there recently?” Kakashi’s answer was a puff of smoke, and he was gone.


Tsunade glared around the room, angry with herself rather than its’ occupants. She had a feeling that she –they- , had just been had.


------

Orochimaru waved Kabuto away, more pleased than he’d been for years. Kabuto, who still wore the henge that had allowed him to assure that the beginnings of his plan had worked. And it had. So he was winning.


He’d always considered himself to be more attuned with his mental abilities, figuring that while others, like Tsunade, focussed more on strength of body rather than mind, his strategical enhancement had not gone unnoticed. If he knew his old teammate, which he did, she would have tried using the scrolls that Sasuke had delivered. Now he’d sent one of his best into her village, and found out what he’d wanted to know, and she was none the wiser.

Orochimaru felt a proud smile creep over his face. Sasuke had, unwittingly, brought the very tool of Konoha’s downfall straight to the one who would make it all possible. He would bide his time, allow them to fall into a false and shaky sense of security. When they least expected it, he would bring his final stage to fruition.

Orochimaru was a modest man. Somewhat. He wasn’t one to flaunt his obvious high mental capacity, because he was modest, and he had an entire village waiting to do that for him. But when pitted against Tsunade and her band of dense Konoha shinobi...

Orochimaru was a downright genius.

------


Kisame remained kneeling, head slightly bowed as he watched the ground avidly, listening in respectful silence as his leader spoke to him.


“Itachi. What did you tell him regarding this matter?” The soft voice echoed through the cavern they resided in temporarily, reverberating off the blank walls and travelling aimlessly around. Kisame found it hard to concentrate on the voice.

“Nothing much. I just told him that he wasn’t dead. I didn’t say anything about his disappearance.”

“Hm. Orochimaru seems to be moving in. Apparently he believes he has some claim to Uchiha. Prove him wrong, why don’t you. Rather...you and Uchiha.”


Kisame nodded his head once to show he understood.

“Those will be the terms he accepts should he join. He will find Itachi and finish him off. After all, who are we to deny the boy his life-long goal, hm?”

Kisame nodded once, and when the silence continued he glanced up and saw that he was alone in the cave. He sighed as he stood to take his leave. It seemed that the world was revolving around the last Uchiha’s. Now he had to take care of that bastard sennin who refused to grow up. Kisame sighed to himself again.


“I’m getting too old for this.”


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Raise your hand if you hate slivers. They make putting a coat on a major bitch.
Shorter than the previous, but what are you going to do? Hoped you liked this, somewhat.