Enslaved - Naruto AU SI/OC

[Infinity819]

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd stop all Boruto related media immediately.

Enslaved
Chapter 1​

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…

…

…

"I'm alive. Well, I've been alive for a long time, I think. A mindless blob, one that existed merely somewhere deep within a body.

Now though, I could feel. I could see. And most importantly, I can think. It was all fuzzy, in all honesty — from the view of a glass, to my body being touched by water and some sort of bubbles popping making me wince in pain — but I was once again alive.

'Back' was the key word. I knew that 'me' that now exists isn't the same as the one before. Brainwashed? Mind transported to another body? I couldn't pin point. My mind was like tornado now — a mess of ideas, memories, and feelings spinning in no sense of direction. All I truly understood was that I exist.

I didn't, or more accurately wasn't able to feel time passing as nothing moved or changed. The view was the same as I thought it always had been. Green water obstructed making the real colors' a bit unclear, but I could figure out that I was in some sort of laboratory filled with the same glass containers I've been residing.

The bubbles started to increase, I realized. I could make out a man standing around 5'11 with a ponytail beside my glass container writing, and pressing buttons on it. Whilst I was looking intently at him, I got lost in thoughts as to who and where I truly was, my mind started to slowly wander off…

…

I woke up on the ground. The dark gray tiles that I was now resting on had been splattered with green liquid from the tube and I fell glued to it.

Slowly, I started trying to push up with my hands and move my legs to at least kneel. It was hard. Something I didn't seem to remember ever being in any shape or form difficult — I lived a healthy and active life in this body before it. Grunting, I finally stood up, and let out a breath. How long did I not breathe fresh air? What did that green liquid do to my lungs?

"Took you a while. Dress up," that man with large glasses that I saw previously said, writing something on a paper. For whatever reason, he looked to be enjoying this whole situation too much to be considered normal.

I slowly drifted to the locker that the man gestured. But before anything else, I had to know. "What's my name?" I asked to which I waited for a long second, but he didn't respond.

I patiently waited whilst staring a hole through his back, but he didn't seem to be worried about answering me. I felt awkward, standing naked to the almost fully grown man, so I decided to leave it at that. Surely, I had a name, right?

Opening the locker, I took out the clothes. I put on the grey pants filled with a few dark brown clouds printed on them. Then, placed my foot into a dark blue shoe and it… felt odd. It just didn't seem right, almost as if I'm a lizard trying on human clothes. Then, I put on a long sleeved shirt with the same cloud-like design on them and put on a heavy, yet clearly reliable and strong black vest on top.

"You're the first," he commented, closing the page he was writing on, and stood up. "First out of many that already died. At the very least, I have one survivor from this mess," he grumbled.

"What's my name," now with a harsher tone I said. I at least deserved to know that after, apparently, being his rat for an experiment that could've killed me."

"Does it matter? You won't be able to remember anything anyway. From now on, all that's important for you is you listening to me and my master's orders, number 027," he said, and I could feel myself gulp out loud. Just how many people wouldn't or already failed to make it? I didn't know, but the man caught my worried gaze.

He fixed his glasses and threw a file that I presume he previously wrote. "Everything that matters is there. Count yourself very lucky, kid. Don't waste the power we have given you," he half-said and half-demanded.

Opening the file, I saw little to nothing of what I really wanted to know. My real name (one I desperately hoped existed) wasn't there, nor was my birthplace. At least I now know the name of the first person I've ever met is named Kabuto. All there really was were basic information ranging from the pure black color of my short, spiky hair to the success of the experiment that—

I dropped the report. My hands weren't steady enough to hold them.

Kabuto just laughed. I was losing my sanity, and he was laughing. "You're overreacting. Once we perfect our plan, we'll do it to each and everyone that's still young enough. Hopefully, someday I'll be able to do it to even myself," Kabuto commented without any notable emotion besides excitement.

Snakes were predators, dangerous ones at that. They had flexible jaws, making them able to swallow animals whole. Their biting force let them sink their deadly teeth into any animal, usually infecting them with poison. Furthermore, snakes are known for their powerful muscles to squeeze their prey, suffocating it.

Now, I had it all in my DNA. I was afraid to not have a name, but to not even be a pure human, and instead exist as this… monstrosity? That was a lot to take in.

Noticing that I was starting to hyperventilate, Kabuto came in close and slapped me. "You have all this power, and that's how you're acting? Like a pathetic kid!" he snapped and took me by the collar for a few seconds, sneering at my face. As soon as he snapped, he calmed himself up. Dropping me on the floor, Kabuto then turned his back on me.

I was still just a kid. One of that age would've probably felt something or cried out upon the slap I received, but I didn't. I knew that was weird, but I simply felt numb to the hit. That only raises my question — just how much was changed of my DNA? Did he only add some of the genes of a snake to me? Did that impact my character?

I brushed my finger along my teeth. Sharp, especially the short fangs I now had. Thick, pointy, and most likely exhibiting poison. Then, I touched my skin. It wasn't the dry and smooth scale-like feeling I was expecting, but the odd sense was still there.

"The next week you'll meet Orochimaru where you'll be branded," Kabuto informed me and gestured me to follow.

The corridors were… packed. I was short, barely standing at 5'2 (hopefully not for long), yet I still felt entrapped in it. If I was claustrophobic, I'd go insane faster than I could count to 10.

It didn't take too long for us to reach my room. A grey wooden door, with a small upper window and a thin handle that looked as if it could break at any moment wasn't a great impression, but upon opening, I was left surprised. If anything, it was tidy. To a point that just put the nail that my superior is a mad scientist, I think.

"Thank you?" I half-said, half-asked him. He nodded, and I entered the 10 feet by 10 feet room. It wasn't big, but it's not a thing I'd be too bothered by (especially since I lived/existed in a capsule that could barely contain my body for many years).

Kabuto didn't talk much, I realized. Or, at least, he didn't like talking about something that's unrelated to science, though I wasn't too sure. "I'll see you in a couple of days. Probably," he said, ending his last words with a bit of sarcasm, to my displeasure. I was alone for long enough.

He locked the door, probably to make sure so I don't leave. Though, it was likely for nothing — I felt powerful. When I fell down from the glass container, I felt powerless, yet now, I could smash the wall with my bare fist. A serpent's DNA… I still had little to no idea how to feel about it or even what it did exactly… The report was rather lack-luster with information.

I didn't sleep that night. I restlessly pushed myself between the large blanket, which made me feel completely insignificant. The best way that I could imagine to explain my emotions would be that of an addict, but my drug was living. I wanted to do something. Scream, shout, and learn. But the door was locked.

So, I took the few books that were lying on the shelfcase in the darkly lit room. One candle certainly wasn't enough light for one room. Flipping the pages, I soon became completely enveloped in it. History. Knowledge was something I missed. Truth, or at least truth interpreted by someone, was something I now craved. 'Brief history of Konoha' was the name of it, and I didn't stop reading it… for lord knows how long. At least the hours were in double digits. Possibly a day, or even two, of constant reading without a single break to ease my eyes or go to the toilet. The books were likely deliberately placed — they likely expected me to act so hyperactively — so I'd learn basic things. But I didn't care, since I genuinely found it all so interesting. A world had a lot to offer.

Digging through the last few sentences, I heard the key being placed in the lock, breaking my hyperfixation. Kabuto entered with a disappointed scowl on his face. "Number 027, this is Number 777," he said stoically. She was a girl, I instantly knew despite never seeing one for all I could remember. Long, tidy red hair went down to her waist, looking out of place between me and Kabuto. He looked like a mad scientist, while I probably looked like a sleep-deprived maniac.

"H-hello," she stammered out, to which I instantly responded with the same response, albeit less awkwardly. She came forward, and we just… looked at each other. Her orange eyes(looked like snake's to a lesser degree than mine) looked beyond tired, despite the fact that she had been sleeping for many years. I stretched my hand for a handshake, but she didn't respond. Number 777 was most likely in a bigger state of shock than even I was, so I took her hand and shook the awkwardness out of the air.

I looked at Kabuto, who still had an angry scowl on his face. As if to respond to my unasked question, Kabuto sighed. "You two are the only ones that survived. What a disappointing failure… Still, you two will be very important for me personally and my experiment," he explained to us, though I saw that Number 777 wasn't following it at all.

"We're going on a mission?" I asked him, and he promptly nodded, so I continued, "When exactly?" I asked since I understood from the books just how dangerous and messy these missions can get. Preparation was likely the best thing to do for the mess my life is. I couldn't wish my worse enemy my fate if it my life would get any weirder than it is now.

"Tomorrow," he bluntly responded, making me wince. So soon? We'd die in a heartbeat if we faced anyone half competent. "Don't be fooled. We're not going to do anything too dangerous. I wouldn't want to fail Orochimaru like that after I promised to show you two off once he gets back," he explained, noticing my disapproving look.

"Wouldn't we just be... useless? I don't know anything about... anything," I admitted bitterly. It just felt illogical in every way for us to do something akin to a mission.

Kabuto shook his head and said, "Remember, you're just a small child. I know the world far better than you two, to the extent that it's making this whole conversation funny. I would hate to waste my valuable time, so I'd never take you two for a 'trip' if I saw it as useless. You'll learn what you need to learn, but I'll protect you if I'm certain you'll die."

That wasn't that reassuring, but Kabuto was smart. Well, that was probably an understatement by me — he was a genius. One who conducts sick experiments that would make most people vomit, but still a genius. Despite all he had said, I still just couldn't truly trust him. He was just... a disturbed person. But what can I do? At least we'll probably come out of it alive, I guess.

"I'll wake you up at seven," he informed us and took his leave. He still chose to lock the door — not that I could blame him; I'd lock me up too if I were him. My eyes were red from all the reading, though it's not the worst thing about my eyes. My pupils go vertically, sharp as a knife at both ends. I can't bear to look at myself through the small mirror hanging on the cobalt-white walls that could make one insane if he'd stay long enough.

I didn't realize how the girl quietly laid down her futon and tried to sleep in it fully clothed in a similarly designed gray outfit filled with brownish-black clouds. She also had the same pure black vest as me.

The girl seemed as if she were in a soundless void, unable to sense or think properly. It was sad, really. This 'experiment' might've broken her, quite literally. "Do you remember your name?" I asked, attempting to learn a bit about her. I knew beforehand that if I didn't do anything to help her now, it would forever leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

"No," she replied detachedly. I figured that would be the case, since Kabuto seemed to be aware from the get-go that our memories were lost.

"Do you remember anything… from your past life?" I asked in order to move the conversation further than just a small talk.

"No," she replied instantly, with the same lack of any emotion. But it only made me angrier. They knew that we'd lose our memories, yet they didn't care one bit?

The silence was killing me, despite it not being awkward at all. So, I started humming for some time. To my surprise, she was the one to break the ice first. "Do you remember your name?" she asked me the same question I had asked her.

I figured she would have understood by now that I didn't, but I was wrong. However, this granted me an opportunity to improve her mood. "I do," I answered, still thinking of a possible name for myself. Never again did I want to be referred to as just a number. "My name is... Yagura," I said, borrowing the name of the Fourth Mizukage. It sounded a lot cooler than just the letter 'A', that's for sure.

She smiled weakly, yet genuinely. The young girl seemed to wander off for a bit before she meekly murmured, "I'd also like to have a name…"

"How about I give one to you then?" I said enthusiastically, which took her by surprise. Frankly, I knew I should know many names, yet I couldn't recall any at all, so I had to improvise by... borrowing them from history books yet again. "How about... Sara?" I asked her. From the few pictures I saw of the woman of a now nearly extinct Kingdom, she looked like a carbon copy with her fair white skin and red hair. The only notable difference was her bright orange eyes, instead of the light red the queen had.

"Thank you, Yagura," she said softly with a smile and went to sleep. Unlike me, she didn't seem to have any energy at all(especially one that lets you stay awake for two/three days). With shoes and all the other clothes she went to sleep, mind you, but that's not the utmost importance right now.

What I needed most was knowledge, strength, and security — preferably for both of us.

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AN: Initially I planned them both to think of names later down the line, but that'd get annoying to write real quick.

Until next time.

 

[Infinity819]

Enslaved
Chapter 2​

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I heard a noise. It was getting louder with each passing second, but I just couldn't pry open my eyes. Staying awake for a few days, even if I didn't feel like sleeping, wasn't such a great idea in hindsight.

Then, the annoying noise stopped, and a kick to my groin was delivered mere seconds later and my quiet peace was shattered.

I opened my eyes to see Kabuto standing in front, or rather, above me. "Sorry," I mumbled resentfully, and in response, he kicked me once again. All the sight was still blurry, and the corners of my eyes were full of some crusty material.

"Get up already," he then said monotonously, despite having just given me multiple bruises a moment ago. Kabuto added, "You should always be aware of your surroundings, even when you're asleep, Number 027."

"My name is Yagura," I replied, perhaps a bit harsher than I intended. After all, I had just made up that name a day ago. Kabuto seemed taken aback by my response, though I couldn't be sure. The only noticeable change was a slight raise of his eyebrows.

"You can call yourself whatever you want," he then quickly dismissed it. "Your name won't matter much anyway. You'll change your whole identity faster than changing your socks," Kabuto added, showing disdain for the whole idea of a name. I couldn't understand why he couldn't just call me by my new self-proclaimed name.

"And her name is Sara," I added, to which the red-headed girl repeated "Her name is Sara" more to herself than anyone else.

Kabuto completely ignored her, focusing more on me. "You have five minutes to get ready. The mission might take a while, but that's just another part of working for Orochimaru. I've had infiltration missions that took me over a year, so don't dare to complain about a week-long one," he explained and motioned with his eyes to my gray with brown cloud patterned clothes.

Missions didn't have high death rates (at least that's what the books claimed). Most of them weren't dangerous at all– delivering scrolls, dealing with thugs, protection, and the like usually went smoothly. But the possibility of death was still there. One wrong move, and I could be dead. After all, my lifeless existence that I experienced had me expecting death to be the same, traveling the empty void of my emotions and thoughts, forgetting who I truly am yet again. The thought sent shivers down my spine.

If I searched for any consolation for today, I would find it in the smell of some spicy baked fish. All I had before were tasteless soups. "Fish for breakfast?" Sara asked before I could, looking over to Kabuto in search of an answer.

Kabuto smirked for whatever reason and nodded, saying, "Wait a bit, I'll be bringing it to you."

…

It took us forever to leave the maze that is Orochimaru's hideout. There were so many hallways that seemingly stretched for miles, with additional hallways branching off from them. I had no idea how anyone could navigate this place.

The exit room was quite beautiful compared to the stale cement walls. Purplish roof plates were placed just above the ground since the exit room itself was dug underground. Two red snake symbols were painted above the entrance door. I had seen many snake symbols in the laboratory where I was experimented on, and now I realized that snakes were something Orochimaru seemed to be obsessed with.

There was no sunlight, only the shadow cast by a massive tree that I couldn't pinpoint the end of. The simple truth of not remembering what it felt like to be touched by the sun's light was a strange thought. I knew it was something very few could say.

"We'll infiltrate a neighboring country, Shimo no Kuni (The Land of Frost)," he finally informed us. "There, we'll meet one of our allies who has been gathering information, and with his help we'll kidnap the princess," he said matter-of-factly. It was scary how easy it was for him to talk about kidnapping a person with complete indifference. When I glanced at Sara, she seemed stiffened by his words.

"Orochimaru won't be staying in Otogakure for long; now we have less than a week. We better start moving and deal with it quickly," he added.

I couldn't help myself, whether because I wanted a moral reason or out of curiosity, I asked, "Why are we kidnapping her?"

Surprisingly, Kabuto answered my question without batting an eye. "Orochimaru is planning something very big. We need allies, or in this case, puppets to succeed. We hope to leverage the princess's life with the Frost Daimyo."

I wanted to ask more questions about the plan, but I refrained. It was quite apparent that he wasn't too eager to share the details of it yet.

"Number 027 and Number 777 you wouldn't want to keep Orochimaru waiting. Let's go!" Kabuto declared suddenly and started to sprint forward, leaving us behind. I glanced at Sara, who looked like she hadn't heard a word he said. I hoped it was because she dismissed her 'number' name that Kabuto addressed her with.

"Hey, Sara, wake up. We have to go!"

Sara snapped out of it but still didn't move a muscle. "I-I don't want to," she suddenly said, and took a deep breath before continuing, "I don't want to kidnap anyone. If Kabuto wants to do it, he'll have to do it himself." Kabuto seemed to notice that he was leaving us behind, so he stopped. It was then that I realized I could smell Kabuto from a mile away.

Before, I had been too concentrated on reading or figuring out the mess I was in. But this morning, I smelled the fish, which Kabuto took forever to bring. It should've raised a few red flags about my smell right there and then, but it just felt ordinarily to me.

It wasn't a bad thing, I admit. I could see so many ways to use such a skill that it wasn't even worth mentioning in my head. Still, the whole idea that I was not entirely human but a human with some mixed snake DNA left a bad taste in my mouth. A freak of nature, I am.

"Will you do it?" Sara asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I really needed to focus more on the matter at hand.

I nodded. "We should do what he says, for now," I said to her, hoping my words would suffice. She was hesitant to say or do anything, breaking eye contact and looking down.

Sighing, I took her hands and held them tightly together. "You won't have to do anything dangerous or bad," I tried to reassure her. "If there's something you don't want to deal with, I'll do it. I promise. Just… go with me, and I'll keep you safe."

Sara still looked hesitant but slowly moved her eyes to face me. "But I don't want you doing it either," she said. I didn't know what to say, really. I could just leave her here, but I doubted Kabuto would appreciate it and would force her to follow anyway. I didn't want to stretch and find out how much patience Kabuto has for us.

I lifted Sara from the ground, holding her with one arm by her back and the other by the legs. She gasped loudly, but I didn't care, and I started moving at a quick pace. Increasing my speed with each step, I felt light, almost too light. The view around me started blurring, the sound of the wind crackling in my ears, and soon I didn't have to rely on my smell to know where Kabuto was.

"Finally," Kabuto said, and I could feel a snort escaping from him right there and then. However, Kabuto didn't comment anything, and after a short moment of glaring, he went back to running. Soon enough, the dense trees seemed to dwindle, changing into a mountainous landscape with many rice fields along the path we were taking.

Every now and then, I could feel Kabuto's gaze falling upon me. We were tagged along on this mission to learn what it's like to work under Orochimaru, but I was doing the bulk of the learning. I moved as quickly as I could, while the only thing Sara did was let her red hair be pushed by the wind in various directions, including into my face many times.

The rather cold weather at the start wasn't tough to deal with, but the closer we got to The Land of Frost, it started to cool off and I started to feel my fingers freezing.

"We should rest here for a few hours," Kabuto suggested as he suddenly stopped near a tall tower that almost touched the sky. He pulled out a scroll from which he, in a puff of smoke, spawned camping gear – a tent for him, and some Futon for us. "It'll get rather cold, as you'd expect," Kabuto added and threw some warmer and layered clothes.

I finally let go of Sara and placed her gently on the ground. If her reaction changed in the slightest throughout the trip, I couldn't tell, as she had been wearing a barely visible scowl for hours while in my arms. Another thing I couldn't quite pinpoint was the time of day. Everything seemed clearer and brighter than I thought it should look. Most likely another effect of the 'stuff' I've been injected with.

Abruptly, a branch cracked, and I looked backward to spot a tall man casually approaching us. "Took you a while. You should've been already waiting for us, Rinji," Kabuto shouted loud enough for him to hear, still preparing a fire.

Rinji was an odd man, I instantly noted. Even the way he was dressed was odd. If I had to guess who he was, I'd say a poor, no-good bandit who couldn't even steal from an elderly person. From his simple dark green hair, baggy brownish-gray pants, to the ridiculous poncho with an equally ugly loose purple vest, he made quite… a sight, to put it nicely.

"Y'know, been places. I have more interesting things to do than wait for you to show up whenever you please," Rinji responded nonchalantly, smirking as he approached us. "Hmm, and who are they?"

There was a rather awkward silence for me as Rinji inspected us. What to do when another person is just staring at you, scrutinizing your every action (even the smallest ones) and trying to determine what kind of person I was? Maybe I was looking too deeply into it, as Rinji appeared rather uncaring about either of us... or anything at all.

"Good kids," he said with something resembling a smile and introduced himself officially, so we did the same. "The Land of Frost can get quite difficult to navigate," he exclaimed soon after.

I glanced at Kabuto and saw him wearing a sly grin with a raised eyebrow. Despite their tone of conversation, it seemed like they were enjoying each other's company. "You're not going to ask why I'm bringing little kids to the playground?" Kabuto inquired.

"I know that you know better than that. If you're bringing them here, you either want them to have an... 'accident', or they're actually good at something," Rinji responded with the same devilish grin.

"Hmm, you're right on the spot, as usual," Kabuto said with a clearly intended fake smile. "In any case, we should rest for a few hours while you provide us with some intel."

It took us some time, but we managed to set up something resembling a camp. Well, that's not entirely accurate – all I did was place our futons on the ground while Sara sat and watched with a blank look. Kabuto did everything else in between their quarrels. I didn't know, but it seemed that Kabuto was Rinji's superior, although I would expect more respect from him if that were the case.

We surrounded the fire, and Rinji let out a comical sigh. "There's not too much to tell that you don't already know, Kabuto. Finding Shimogakure will be tough. My bats won't be of much use since they aren't well adapted to such a harsh environment, so we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Though, once we reach it, I'll use them to find and capture the princess in no time."

"The Land of Frost is big," I voiced my thoughts. The books I read didn't have much on the land besides the basics that Rinji had just told us. Despite that, I wanted more. Even if none of it would matter all that much, I still wanted to learn more.

"It is," Rinji agreed. "There were also numerous bandits that I've dealt with, plus all the genjutsu that were placed along the way. Luckily, they were all nobodies with little to no talent. Though I've yet to actually find the damned village."

"That's why I always come prepared," Kabuto said as he started to chuckle. "You won't be as useless as you might've initially thought, Number 027."

...

Before, I thought I had been transplanted with snake genes that improved all my senses. And I'd be right. Mostly.

I've been injected with what Kabuto calls 'Power of the Black Snake.' Something he said resembles Orochimaru's 'Power of the White Snake' (hence the name), albeit an inferior version that could be mass-produced on children in the future. Though, just because it has the word snake in it doesn't mean that every body modification is related to a snake.

Just like 'Power of the White Snake,' it can heal the body faster than any normal human being and multiplies chakra reserves multiple times. The regeneration is so good that it could theoretically regenerate an entire limb if one were to lose it.

And our senses weren't those of a simple snake. They were the elite of the elite, the same snakes that Orochimaru himself harvests and uses as summons. Apparently, if I tried hard enough, I could smell a person/food, and other scents up to 5 miles in radius(or even more). And that was Kabuto's rather basic plan — I would go with Rinji to the southeast, while Sara and Kabuto would go northeast, so we would cover more ground with our smell senses.

There was one major problem with it: we'd be split, so one of the pairs would have to do all the work if they managed to reach Shimogakure within the maximum day limit. Kabuto seemed to care a lot more about being punctual to Orochimaru's wishes than about completing this mission.

I didn't like the idea of letting Sara go with Kabuto, but what could I do? I had virtually no say in anything. So, my promise of protecting and shielding her on this mission turned out to be all lies in the end.

"Anything of note?" Rinji broke me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and started focusing on the task at hand. If anything, I at least had to do the kidnapping myself instead of letting Sara do it.

My sense of smell wasn't reaching the 5 miles that Kabuto claimed, but it was getting closer with each passing second. Whenever I could, I closed my eyes and tried to rely completely on my sense of smell and the range increased. I could sense animals and such, but no humans yet.

"Y'know, this place is getting really damn annoying," Rinji grumbled. Even with the warmer and larger clothes we all wore, which limited our mobility, it was still freezing. Whenever we stopped —to rest or sleep — we'd make a huge fire pit.

This 'fun' experience would have been far worse if Kabuto hadn't taught us how to walk on snow. My feet would have been amputated because of frostbite hours ago if that weren't the case.

Apparently, one of the reasons we had survived the experiment in the first place while the others had died was our rather small chakra reserves. The body modifications had less 'surface' to cover, so to speak, until they reached an age where they could no longer be modified as Kabuto had envisioned.

"I smell something — somebody," I quickly corrected myself and pointed to the south. "There's a group. Five, I think. They're moving rather quickly."

Rinji pondered for a quick second before suggesting that we follow them for some time. "Let's get close to them. If they look like bandits, we'll kill them and take their shit," he added vulgarly.

Speeding through the harsh frosty wind that blew right in our faces, we caught up with them in an instant. Rinji, if anything, had senses far better than what normal humans should have. I certainly wouldn't have seen them from the hill we stood on if all of my senses weren't enhanced.

"They look like merchants, if I had to guess. The many layers of their furry clothes might mean they're local; there aren't many villages in the Land of Frost, so chances we just found our ticket to the village," he said. "If only my bats would last more than a few minutes here... we would have done this in a heartbeat," Rinji then added with a scowl.

"Are you in a hurry somewhere?" I asked, unconsciously. My position in the hierarchy... was quite a peculiar one, I think. Was I someone of importance in Orochimaru's faction? I couldn't quite tell. Kabuto was officially his right hand, while Sara and I seemed to be Kabuto's henchmen, so to speak. Where did Rinji stand? I had no clue.

"The less time I spend under Kabuto's commands, the better," he said and laughed loudly. "Not that I like Guren all that much, but she's a bit... dumber than Kabuto," Rinji added, seemingly unworried about me hearing it all. Did I stand at a point where Rinji thought I'd keep my mouth shut about him calling his superior dumb, or he couldn't care if she knew? No clue.

Slowly making our way through the desolate tundra, we followed and observed each and every step they took or didn't take. I wasn't the smartest — especially compared to Kabuto — but I felt confident in my skills, despite not having anything in my arsenal. Some sort of predatory feeling enveloped me as we watched them from behind, my fingers itching to make a move.

Whether that's me talking, or the mess of genes I've been given, I didn't know, but the importance of the thought had seemingly evaporated over the day we stalked them.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe and smell through my nose; the scent of everything around me was cold and chill-inducing. Chilly in a way that every breath didn't quite hurt, but felt like I had breathed in and tasted metal inside of me.

Despite that, I finally smelled something in the distance. "A campfire," I said softly. "People, and fish," I added, and saw a wide grin spread across Rinji's face, almost reaching his long brown bangs on the opposite side.

"Guess I'll have the honor of taking the princess with us," he said smugly. "Let's take them out and take their stuff." Soon after his words, he started sprinting toward them, his long poncho trailing behind him.

I took a deep breath. By the way Rinji glanced at me, he wanted me to take them out. Whether Kabuto had asked him to, or Rinji knew that teaching me the life I'd have to live was one of the main reasons for taking us, I couldn't tell. Nonetheless, I let my inner predator-like sense go wild and launched myself in their direction, not in the elegant and cruel snake-like way, but more like a wild coyote rushing to his prey kind of way.

Rinji took out his kunai and instantly slit the throats of a couple of them. In front of me was a short girl; she was shorter than me, and I was by no means tall. If she wasn't a kid, I might've just killed her in an instant.

Looking into her eyes, I saw fear, and nothing else. No sadness, hatred, or anything alike in her expression. Like a wild deer we had seen along this land, all she wanted was to run away and live. I didn't even realize how Rinji took out all of them while I looked at the tiny girl.

"Come on. You'll have to do it eventually," Rinji snapped me out of my thoughts. I took a step forward, and the girl stumbled back, and fell to the ground. I took a few more steps forward, but she didn't run. All she did was look away and start to sob.

"You monsters!" she repeated multiple times. And the sad part was, I knew she was right. To end someone's life so mercilessly... for what, exactly? I didn't even know. Money? I doubted Rinji needed it all that much. Warmer clothes? We did fine with our own ones.

"Maybe we should let her go?" I asked, trying not to sound affected by it at all but failing miserably. Rinji just shook his head.

"No," he said harshly, any sort of joking manner gone completely. Rinji demanded. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

I closed my eyes, and launched forward, holding the kunai in both of my hands, and pressed it to her chest, piercing her in the heart. I could hear the same 'monster' being repeated for a few seconds, until it all stopped. Everything stopped.

The cold wind, any noise of walking or talking evaporated as her blood dripped down onto my hands. I finally looked up to see eyes without anything in them. They seemed so black and devoid of life that it sent shivers down my core.

"Switch with that one's clothes," Rinji suddenly instructed, and I obliged. I had already done that per his command, so being his puppet for anything else was a given.

...

The village appeared far poorer than I had envisioned. Their fence was made of birch twigs and was quite a mess, in all honesty. Even children could break through it, so all I could think was that it was a decoration rather than anything of valuable defense. The houses were poor. Many had broken windows, and the wood barely held the houses together.

No wonder we didn't have trouble getting into the village. The only reason why this land hadn't been assimilated by its neighbors was that nobody wanted or cared about it. Seriously, I think Kabuto alone could take this land for himself without too much trouble. The only concern was the harsh frostbite of getting here.

We sat far away from people. Well, there weren't many in the first place, besides a few shops selling fish. Once I sat down, I felt glued to the bench as I could finally rest my legs for the first time in a day.

"I doubt that Frost Daimyo is here. From what I've heard from the bandits, he lives abroad," Rinji said, leaning back and placing his hands on his head.

"I can't blame him," I added sorely. It felt miserable living here, even though this land had little to no conflict in its history.

"Took y'all long enough," Rinji said out of nowhere. Noticing my confused and raised eyebrows, Rinji added, "It's my bats. I spotted a few here that actually manage to live through the cold. If only I found them sooner…"

"I can control them," he then said proudly. "You might not think much of it, kid, but this power will make me rise to the top," he tried to brag, but it didn't elicit any reaction from me. I was getting too worried about Sara for me to care about such meaningless things. If I had to kill… Sara might have to as well, and I didn't know how she'd take it. Probably much worse than me.

Not that I did that well in the first place. After her death, I became so alert of everything — afraid of even my own shadow. I didn't know whether I'm more afraid of what have I just done, or just how easy it was to do it. My life could end just as quick as hers if anyone really wanted.

"Let's go and take care of it already," I said, clenching my fist in order to gain some sense back. I wanted to end it as soon as possible.

"Oh, now you're in a hurry. Our little Yagura didn't seem too eager to kill someone, though," he said cruelly, and saw me wince at his words. A sadistic chuckle escaped his mouth, but I tried not to let it affect me any further.

"She's in that tower," Rinji informed, pointing to the biggest building standing in the center of the village. "The biggest" was quite a generous word, since it was only three stories high. "We could do it in many ways… but sometimes the dumbest and riskiest is the best one."

"Let's say we're representatives of Otogakure and ask them to let us have a talk with the princess. It doesn't really matter if they know we took her; after all, we'll inform them that we took the princess to the Frost Daimyo anyway," Rinji laid down the simple strategy.

"What if they don't let us in?" I asked.

"Then we think of something else. I'm not sure how much Kabuto had told you, but the Land of Frost has no idea of our plans. Even if they find it suspicious, all we could get is getting kicked out of here." It seemed logical enough, and I presumed Rinji probably already had a plan for getting out, so I didn't bother questioning it any further.

The castle, if one could call it that, was the only building made of stone and not wood in Shimogakure. It stood on a short hill, to make it look at least a bit more intimidating than it truly was. The entrance had a 12-foot door on each side, looking rather out of place since the building itself was too short for such a door to look normal.

One guard stood near it, and upon seeing us, he stood up. "State who you are, and what you want!" he loudly demanded.

"My name is Totetsu, and this is my cousin Muren. We're representatives of Otogakure, and we wish to speak with the princess," Rinji responded nonchalantly. Lying was as easy as breathing air for Rinji, I noticed. Just one of the many similarities between him and Kabuto. Renji then gave a scroll, which I presumed(though, I really have no clue) was something written by Orochimaru or the Sound's Daimyo.

"Wait here!" the soldier said and went into the castle. Five minutes later, he returned and gave us the answer. "Under supervision, you'll be able to talk with Her Majesty. If you do anything suspicious, we'll deal with you in a heartbeat. Harshly," he threatened us, to which Rinji tried to look shocked upon hearing the threat.

"So we aren't trusted here," Rinji said sarcastically with a sad grimace, letting his lip go lower while the soldier came closer and inspected us for any weapons, which we had already gotten rid of a long time ago.

The guard just shook his head. "Nobody is trusted enough, besides our Daimyo, to go anywhere near the princess." He said and motioned for us to follow him. The inside of the castle was... compact, to say the least. It had a few paintings in the open area, a few benches, and not much more besides the large staircase going up.

The second floor was a large space, where I assumed people gathered and ate, and made food in the small kitchen I caught a glimpse of at the end of the open area. It was quite sad; I should've assumed that's how the poorest land in the Elemental Nations would look like.

Reaching the third and last floor, we saw a few doors leading to other rooms across the hallway. "The one at the end," the guard informed. I was starting to feel worse and worse; I had just killed a young girl not long ago, and now I was about to kidnap a princess from a land that struggled immensely, probably causing even worse suffering.

He dramatically opened the door, and I saw the princess sitting on a chair, surrounded by two bodyguards on each side. "Oh, it took us such a long time to meet you, Your Majesty," Rinji said. I doubted that anyone beside me saw the hidden sarcasm in his tone.

We both bowed low, while the princess had an impenetrable look in her eyes. But a solid second later, she allowed us to sit in the chairs in front.

Koyuki Kazahana was beautiful, I had to admit. A name I had forgotten multiple times during the journey, and asked Rinji to repeat it. The long black hair tied in a ponytail with royally crafted bangs reaching her shoulders, followed by her deep violet eyes and a dark green dress with some red to contrast it, made her look appropriate for royalty.

"State what you want in our land," Koyuki said with a dismissive tone. Obviously, the princess wasn't too keen on having Shinobi from other countries.

I took notice of what Rinji told with his eyes. By the way he motioned them to me, Rinji wanted me to be ready for combat. "It's going to be a long talk, I'm afraid. Could you open a window, please? The heating here is getting to me, I'm afraid," Rinji said, once again sounding sarcastic to me, but it could be just my imagination.

The guard obliged and opened one of the windows. "Thank you," Rinji said happily, and clapped his hands excitedly. "Now we can move to business—"

As his last word came out, a loud ringing crossed my ears. But I knew they weren't targeted at me. The soldier made a shriek-like sound, while the bodyguards fell to the floor, holding their hands on their ears. I moved quickly, taking the sword out of the soldier's hands and placed it in his heart. Rinji did the same to the other two bodyguards.

"Sorry, princess, but there's only so much time I'd want to spend here. And, sadly, it ended before I even stepped foot here," Rinji quipped to no one in particular as I could barely make it out because of the ultrasonic waves sent by the bats. "Take care of her, Yagura. I recommend shutting her mouth for a while. Y'know, it will take time to get back and you don't want an annoying princess shouting 'I'm royalty' on your back," he suggested, and I hit her neck with the side of my hand, making her drop unconscious. Then, I took her on my back, and dropped from the window onto the ground.

If there's any consolidation to my life is that this mission is finally over.

...

Once I got out of any semblance of snow, I wanted to get down and give the grass a light kiss. I really did.

My hands, limbs, and every other part of my body were frozen. Apparently, we were lucky the previous days when it was a relatively hot compared to the average cold.

The princess was taken care of. Her mouth was covered so she wouldn't utter a word, while the rest of her limbs were tied together with a rope. The mission was complete, at last.

"I'll be taking off," Rinji said to me. "Good luck, kid. If you ever want to switch teams, call me up. Any way to rip on Kabuto is good by me," he continued. Either Kabuto wasn't as cruel as I thought (since I'd expect Rinji to be dead if he keeps saying these sorts of things behind Kabuto's back), or he trusted me not to say it to Kabuto. Which I wouldn't — Kabuto wasn't someone I'd call a friend, so I could care less about who does what behind his back.

"Take care," Rinji waved and went ahead, not glancing back at me.

It was odd; he just easily left me with the princess of an entire Land of Frost. I had something to leverage an entire country, which is a bizarre thing to consider when just some time ago I wasn't even what I'd consider to be alive or dead.

Not that I could really use her in any way I wanted. I hated to admit it, but I'm weak. Not only in strength, but also in mindset. If I do anything risky, I know it wouldn't end well for me or Sara.

Just as I started reminiscing about Sara and my promise, I saw her and Kabuto slowly walking towards, happily waving his hand. "Guess Rinji left already, hadn't he? Well, let's go; you'll still have a day left all for yourself if we don't waste time."

I was happy to hear that. But not see them — or more accurately her. Sara… her clothes had blood on them. Her left cheek was bruised from what I assumed was a slap from Kabuto (probably since she didn't do what he had wanted).

But nothing compared to her eyes; all the soft, lively orange eyes that were there before were now long gone. All that was left was emptiness, devoid of any life, akin to the girl I had previously killed. I didn't even realize how I fell to the ground on my knees. She wasn't crying, but the redness of it must've stayed in her eyelids for a while.

I had promised her that I'd take care of the mission for her. I said that I'd shield her from everything that she was afraid of. I had completely failed.

"What… what happened?"

---

If only Naruto had an actual official map with all locations cut and clear. If only. I might make a map myself later once I hit a breaking point (I had drawn a few maps before, so they should look at least okayish). Also, Rinji isn't an OC but a filler character. I'll try to minimize the number of OCs as best as I can since I don't think most enjoy those kinds of stories (plus, I might change the filler ones backstories quite a bit, if you haven't noticed it yet). It is quite tough to build a story from scratch and not use any OCs. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!