***
What laid in wait before me wasn’t anything surprising when I tried to take a moment to myself before. The scrambling, auburn, messy-haired preteen was coming in hot and didn't look like he was slowing down any time soon. I moved to the side before he got close, only to feel like I got hit by a miniature Truck-kun.
Little did I know, he wasn’t having it.
In an instant, the wind was knocked out of me, I swear that my soul almost left my body. Did he tackle me into a hug? A grapple? At this point, I couldn’t tell.
We both fell into the rice paddy and from what I could tell, Menma was collateral damage. Drenched once again and filthy to boot, was one time, not enough?
Riku didn’t seem to care and just latched onto me as if his life depended on it, maybe it did. If it wasn’t for him trying to be “strong” he’d be crying… Never mind, the tears that dripped down my cheek were something I took as the first good sign I’d seen in a while.
I stroked the back of his head while he let it out, sure I was getting soaked but at that moment, he needed a shoulder and I was more than willing to give it to this bo-. No, this brother of mine who’s been staying strong for the both of us.
I caught the sight of six more doors opening up around us, though I only recognized two people there. One whose periwinkle hair was distinguishable, particularly by where we were. Arashi, the hope of the Fūma Clan, looked to be maybe 15- 16.
A kid was giving a curious look following behind him, Sasame. The ginger in a pink shirt and beige pants seemed to be a little anxious, she only peeked at us before hiding back behind her cousin. I would be too if I was out here looking like a strawberry ice cream cone.
He approached us with a cordial smile on his face “Hello I-”
Riku turned back and hissed, I kid you not he HISSED at him. It didn’t take long for me to stifle my laughter and slap the back of Riku’s head before getting him off of me.
“My apologies, the day has been off to a rocky start. I’m Hibiki and you probably know about Riku. It's a pleasure to meet you and the rest. I must thank you for taking care of me and this idiot.” I went up to bow and was immediately reciprocated
“Oh, It’s no problem. It’s understandable after the state you were in, at least from what Riku shared. I’m Arashi and the little one behind me is Sasame and a few members of the Fūma Clan with the addition of you two now. ” (Arashi)
I turned back to the paddy to see if either Menma or the snake was still there; however, it appeared that they both left amidst the greeting. I could still see Menma running off in the distance, I guess he wasn’t so good with people.
They guided me and Riku around the village after we got cleaned up and changed because Riku refused to leave my side and still was doing so. We made some small talk about the clan which also served to make sure the Chūnin beside me wasn’t absolutely losing his shit.
I was trying to put a handle on the issue while I was with Julie and I think we had a decent hold over it now. When our tour was nearing its end, a sense of dread came over me. Arashi and Sasame bowed and Riku swiftly pushed my head down and did the same.
“It’s an honor to greet you, Lord Orochimaru!” (All)
There he was, the slimy bastard of this series and one of the three Sannins, Orochimaru. I never did understand how he was so pale even though he goes around a lot. I guess he’s just built differently.
He gave a small nod to the two of them before turning to us, “You two, follow me. There’s much to be done before I have to go again, I don’t want to be kept waiting.”
“Yes, Lord Orochimaru!”(Riku and Hibiki)
Just like that, we followed across the forest and into the rocky terrain of a mountain before finding an underground bunker below a tree. The style of the building here was more reminiscent of something you’d see in Konoha.
Inside the bunker continued into the dark, we followed the candle-lit stone walls to a room. This looked more so like an actual home where a boy looking to be 14 years old with ash-gray hair and black-rimmed glasses was moving around all sorts of specimens encased in glass. It looked like his hair was nearly long enough to the point that he had it in a short ponytail. Maybe I was the weird one for having more hair this young.
I looked over at Riku, who fidgeted a little in response. He was taller than Kabuto by an inch or two and his hair reminded me of Tsunade when she was a Genin, no. It reminded me of someone else, I couldn’t put my finger on it. He kept his ponytail super short like it was the size of a bun while the rest of his hair hung loose. His ponytail was literally pointless but he liked it.
My hair had similar qualities but whenever I put it in a ponytail it’d always look like I had this small lotus flower of hair at the end of my head. Each clump's shape reminded me of an American football.
Riku told me that mom had the same problem even when she put her hair up. The only difference was that hers looked like multiple tails. From what I remember, her hair was more like a bob cut though some parts of her hair still did clump up too. I guess mine will be in the same way.
It seemed like he understood what I was thinking about after following my eyes going from Kabuto to him. He smiled and ruffled my hair. For some reason, I just got frustrated and it was probably apparent on my face since he let out a wary laugh and tried to take his hand away. I grabbed onto his hand and started shaking my head from side to side before letting go and getting back to my thoughts.
I don’t want to hear shit, head pats are nice but I like Riku being playful more nowadays so I wasn’t going to discourage him in the slightest, thank you very much. It was when he elbowed me and smiled, that it hit me!
There was this game my fiancé was obsessed with, Touken Ranbu! I remember being so concerned that it got to the point that she wasn’t sure if our marriage was gonna interfere with her love for the characters. He kept his hair like Kotetsu Urashima!
S: (Pfft, you finally got it! Hahaha!) (Julia)
“Kabuto, you already know Riku. This is his brother, Hibiki. They’ll both be working with us from now on so we can get familiar with each other.” (Orochimaru)
“Yes Lord Orochimaru, It’s nice to meet you, Hibiki.” Kabuto gave a bow to me
I had to calm myself down over Julia’s laughter as I reciprocated, “Likewise, Kabuto.”
There was a set of notes that Orochimaru gathered up before putting away in his clothes. He pulled out a small sheet of paper from a drawer and handed it to me.
“Put your chakra into this and we’ll go from there.” (Orochimaru)
I nodded and did as instructed, to see the chakra paper split in half and Orochimaru responded before my thoughts caught up to me.
“That’ll mean you have an affinity for wind, now we’ll go on to find out what attributes are easier for you to use.” (Orochimaru)
'How cool is that?! If I work hard enough maybe I’ll be able to fly or pull off some things in The Avatar. I might not be suited for all the elements but who knows?! ' I had a bright smile on my face as we continued.
We then spent the next half hour trying out different elemental jutsus and found that my chakra nature leaned towards wind, lightning, and water.
He then handed me the scrolls for, Lightning Release: Lightning Ball( Raiton: Raikyū), Wind Release: Breakthrough (Fūton: Toppa), and, Water Release: Water Shield (Suiton: Suijun)
“So there’s not a Water Release: Water Ball or something? … ” (Hibiki)
We all stood there in a moment of silence before Orochimaru spoke
“There is but, it’s difficult to procure things without risking my presence being known.”
“Right…, It also probably isn’t easy for the Sannin to henge into a different person and to sneak into their ninjutsu storage and grab a scroll or two before escaping…” I added on unconsciously before slapping my hand over my mouth.
The silence was loud as Orochimaru glared at me, BUT AM I WRONG?!
If that living traffic cone could do it, he should be just fine! I wasn’t gonna get caught looking him in the eye now so I just started whistling. It seemed like I made the snake a little mad.
Though it probably wasn’t gonna be the last time I saw that look so I had Jules capture an image of the memory.
Luckily, Riku stepped in before I opened my smart mouth again to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
“O-or Lord Orochimaru could have you learn how to henge and do other techniques to get by… as we understand how valuable his time is. ” (Riku)
“Or he or YOU could teach me a technique, to have an easier time learning. Unless, our dear Sannin is incapable of such. ”(Hibiki)
S: (Nice one.) (Julia)
(Shut up, I know.)
Now, it was obvious that I was trying to bait Orochimaru. So I might as well jab at the person unwilling to teach me!
Hear me out though, having a shadow clone is so useful even though they’re a chakra drain. Orochimaru just scoffed at the idea, pissing me off a little. At least I got something out of it.
“How about we do this, if you manage to sneak into Konoha and get the technique for anything and get out without alerting the ANBU. I’ll personally teach you how to make shadow clones. ” (Orochimaru)
“Deal!” I adamantly shook his hand before Riku could stop me
“Alright, the next thing I need Hibiki to do is sit in the chair here… ” (Orochimaru)
Honestly, I should’ve thought about it in advance. Ya know, the consequences of teasing a mad scientist.
“Bite down on this. Riku, you step out of the room for a little bit.” (Orochimaru)
I think Riku knew what was gonna happen before I got there, the momentary grimace before he sighed while Kabuto patted his shoulder wasn’t comforting in the slightest for what happened next. They probably had a conversation before I was involved. It was then that I heard in my head as Orochimaru said something I missed.
“Oh, right. I forgot to mention-” Then everything went blank as the content in that needle was injected into my bloodstream. It was afterward that I was strapped to the chair.
At first, It didn’t make sense to me.
Then it clicked, this fucker needed me to be confused at that moment. I, of all people, should’ve known. Deception is my shit after all!
This faint pain started to surge throughout my body. I tried to endure it but that was like bracing myself for a roller coaster. A slow incline before you just feel nothing at all. You think you’re holding up pretty well and in that instance, you descend at the speed of a bullet train.
My blood felt like it was boiling, trying its hardest to reject whatever the fuck was in that. I felt my heartbeat speed up by the minute.
*Bump, bump*
*Ba-bump, Bump Bump*
*BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP, BA-BUMP*
The feeling was too real. I tried to slow my breathing disregarding the amount of sweat covering me.
'Fuck, Fuck, Fuck! The glass is filling. I have to keep it together. I can’t let this go on!'
So maybe it wasn’t the safest thing, I saw the veins popping out of my arm as I tensed up against the straps binding me. I don’t know how long it was before I saw Riku start looking agitated, it felt like something in my body was responding as my view of the room became more blurry.
(Do it, please!)
Just like that my body went slack as my nerves became numb. Ugh, how embarrassing was that?! It was like asking an ex for a ride, you don’t just do that! God, I already knew what he’d say!
I could feel a barricade being put up before a wave that felt like 10 tons crashed into it. God, was I glad Julia was supportive, otherwise, I’d be a goner.
In succession, the barrier opened and closed bit by bit to take in more of the substance once I got used to the rest being present. It didn’t take long to figure out what it was afterward.
[----] allowed me to combat against forces on one's psyche in general, it was also one of the reasons I was requested a lot.
Things like palpable emotions, mental attacks, or subtle illnesses could be converted into [Essence] for my usage. It’s easier to see it as a funnel.
It gets harder to convert the more of said things I have, you can’t stuff a funnel and expect everything to slide through. I can only do so much at a time. This isn’t my ability per se, but let’s call it a resource.
The day was truly off to a lovely start, being tackled, being drugged? And to top it all off, have him hit the shutdown button to get some semblance of an anesthetic. Oh boy, I couldn’t wait for tomorrow!
*Sigh*
But, let’s put it together for our lovely folks at home.
Iykyk BUT, to a few of us here as well, there aren’t many things that acted like invasive species in Naruto. Naturally, one of the first things someone may think of, sorry if you haven’t seen the series, would be the nine-tailed fox sealed inside of Naruto. BUT THAT’S FOR NARUTO!
So we move on to the NEXT. BIG. THING!
Along with Orochimaru’s pretty tattoos he likes to chomp onto other people, he had the pure AUDACITY to not only bet my life but also not make it any EASIER! JUST KILL ME WHY DON’T YA?!
Sorry, back to the point. If the cursed seal was just a sword’s blade, he just handed me molten metal in the form of an Intramuscular injection with the DNA of someone from Jūgo’s clan.
Who’s Jugo, you may ask? Oh, just someone whose clan takes in the natural energy of the atmosphere and combines their chakra with it to do some pretty cool shit. Which would be all fine and dandy, ya know, if it wasn’t for their unstable nature they also gain…
A breeze flew through the cave as I exhaled after who knows how many hours I went through that hell, soaked in my own sweat and tired. But the way Kabuto and Riku looked on in shock while Orochimaru looked at me reminded me of a certain magician with a lust for those with ‘potential’. I couldn’t stay focused on that pedo for a moment longer, it was as if I was floating on clouds only to see a storm approaching.
[6 more psyches will soon be joining the Original Four (1/10)]
[6 more psyches will soon be joining the Original Four (1/10)]
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