Learning to Live, Ch.1
So, as many of you may know, my muse has forgiven me for abandoning her. When I first decided I wanted to write again, a dear friend of mine issued an interesting challenge - to create an OC that was both related to Iruka and had a bloodline limit. To sweeten the deal, she also challenged me to bring back Obito and make her an eventual pairing with Kakashi - without her being anything even remotely resembling the dreaded Mary-Sue.
This is the result. Incidently, this will also be my first long fic (i've already got the first 7 or 8 chapters outlined!). Massive thanks to Suz and Lecanis for the helpful hints and Beta work - which means any mistakes left are all my fault! And I totally welcome any/all constructive crit...after all, in the end, my goal is to improve. I'll even give you a hint - I think my biggest weaknesses are in the effective use of little details and developing conversations...
Title: Learning to Live, Ch.1
Rating: PG-13, for now
Pairings: None yet, eventual GenRai, KakaOC, possible others...
Disclaimer: Wishing won't make them mine, but the OC's I can claim!
There were some missions that were completed with hardly any bloodshed and little effort. Others that involved quite a bit of bloodshed, on one side or the other (or both), but still ended with the term ‘successfully completed’ stamped neatly on the report.
Unfortunately, this one has all the markings for the ‘failed spectacularly’ stamp.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the thought, the amber-eyed shinobi grabbed his partner and quickly darted into an otherwise empty room. With a slight nod to his left, he spared the other shinobi a cursory glance as they both cracked open small chem-lights. The artificial light cast a soft green glow around them as they began to slowly drift around the room - each checking for traps, or even better, a method of escape. Unfortunately for them, they appeared to be in a plain windowless bedroom of sorts that had only a small bathroom and even smaller closet.
Finally satisfied that they were at least marginally safe for the moment, as the longer haired one slouched wearily in the corner hidden behind the door, he shifted slightly before letting a small sigh escape.
“Did I piss off anybody in Intel lately? ‘Cuz right now, I think they did this on purpose.”
“Nah…you know our info on Stone is minimal at best. It’s not really their fault the room we thought the scroll was in was really the Tsuchikage’s private office rather than a storage vault. I mean, how were they supposed to know that it was heavily guarded by both seals and ANBU?”
Feeling, rather than seeing, the other man lean next to him, he couldn’t keep the sharp sarcasm from his voice. “I guess it’s just too much to ask that they actually…I don’t know…do their jobs?”
“Not helping, Genma.”
“Yeah, yeah. Think now, bitch later. You always say that, Rai.”
Dark eyes rolled, before the scarred man growled a soft warning.
“Genma.”
“Raidou.”
Amber eyes danced at his friend’s obvious irritation before his gaze shifted back to the door, shoulders drooping slightly before he spoke again. This time barely above a whisper. “Damn, that’s not good. The inside of the door has no handles or locks. We need to get out of here, fast. You happen to have any fantastically brilliant ideas on how to get us out of a hostile village without loss of life or scroll?”
“Sorry, fresh out. Look on the bright side-
“You see a bright side?!”
“-at least they don’t have any proof that it was Konoha shinobi.”
“Yet. But if we can’t figure out something soon…”
“Hn. You still got the maps they gave us? We can adjust them to what we’ve seen and try to figure out-"
A thin hand was slapped none-too-gently over Raidou’s mouth, fingertips unconsciously smoothing over the scarred cheek. Confused eyes sought out amber ones only to find the other man pressing his ear against the wall, eyes closed.
Genma sat like that for another moment before snapping his head around, body suddenly tense.
“Someone’s coming. At least two people, but it could be three.”
Both men pulled in their chakra, concealing it as much as possible as they listened to the footfalls rapidly approach. They could hear two voices, apparently arguing, though the thick door made it impossible to make out what was being said. Said door was suddenly pushed halfway open as someone was roughly shoved into the room. A gravely voice, dripping with scorn, accompanied the slight frame.
“Do you really think we’re that stupid? If what we think is true, there is no way anyone in their right mind would let you of all people help with the search. You just sit tight and when my rotation is over, I’ll be back to administer your punishment.”
Without another word the door was slammed shut and the slight pulse of chakra let all three of the inhabitants know it was locked with a rather powerful seal. Slowly the newcomer reached over and flipped on the single overhead light, before striding over to stand next to the bed seemingly unaware that she had an audience.
With a tired groan, she slipped off both katana and porcelain mask and tossed them towards the foot of the bed before spinning around and piercing both men with an angry gaze.
Shit!
To their mutual shock and consternation, both men found that neither of them could so much as move a muscle under the fierce golden gaze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as the door was shut, the woman realized that she was not alone. She could feel their intense gaze on her even as she turned on the light and walked over to the bed - purposefully leaving her back momentarily exposed. As soon as the weapon and mask were off, she spun around, activating her bloodline limit as she did so. Pinning the interlopers to the wall, her eyes widened slightly as she took in the leaf headband strapped to the scarred one’s forehead - though that was the only outward sign of her shock.
“You’re both Leaf shinobi, right? The ones everyone is searching for.”
It was more of a statement rather than a question, really. Tilting her head thoughtfully to the side, long brown hair swaying slightly with the movement, as she continued to regard them. Her anger seemed to visibly drain from her features, relaxing the scowl that had been firmly in place. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, tinged with mild curiosity.
“Do you really think you can get out of here? On your own, when all available shinobi - to include black ops - are currently scouring the village for you? Keep your voices down, and I’ll actually let you answer me.”
That said, she subtly shifted the pressure enough to enable them to speak.
Neither man spoke for a moment, before the scarred one finally offered a rather dry, “That was the intent, yes.”
With a slight nod, she backed up to the bed and dropped down into a comfortable cross-legged seat, headless to her own filth covered uniform - not once taking her eyes off the pair. She continued to watch them, trying to gauge their reactions, before finally shaking her head slightly. When she finally spoke, her words were soft, sure.
“You won’t make it, not on your own. However, if you - shit! He’s coming back. Listen, here’s the deal. I’ll get you out of here, but in exchange, you’re gonna help me escape. For now, keep your traps shut - no matter what you see.”
Without waiting for a reply, she snapped her hands up, rapidly flying through signs as she cast a subtle genjutsu while at the same time sliding the two men gently up the wall to the roof and making them appear to be nothing more than a pair of floating books.
And none too soon, for in that moment a burst of chakra flared at the door before it was slammed open and a tall, overly muscled shinobi strode in - kicking the door shut as he went. He didn’t stop until he was directly in front of her, glaring daggers all the while.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m barely down the hall, and the door alarm signals a spike in your chakra! Don’t try my patience Umino, or you’ll find tonight’s punishment particularly spectacular!”
She ignored the slight start from both shinobi at the mention of her name - opting instead to raising an eyebrow and smirking up at the fuming man before offering her indolent reply.
“What? Is the great Tsuchikage so scared of me that I am no longer allowed to do my basic control exercises?”
A howl of rage was the only warning as he lunged. One meaty hand wrapping vice-like around her neck as he yanked her off of the bed and slammed her against the opposite wall.
“It seems you’ve forgotten your place. Your father would be most displeased to hear you speak of him in such an ungrateful manner. It seems I cannot postpone your lesson after all.”
Reaching up with his free hand, he tapped once on the radio around his own neck. A moment later, a large screen on the ceiling, directly above the bed, blinked on - revealing the darkened interior of an interrogation cell. With a forceful jerk, she was flung onto her back directly below. Sitting on her stomach, the Stone shinobi easily pinned her arms between her sides and his knees before grabbing her jaw in a bruising grip.
Biting her lip, she managed to suppress the whimper that wanted to make its way out. Focusing, instead, on strengthening her own hold on the still undetected men pressed into the wall.
Her captor smiled maliciously as he leaned down, black eyes hard as he whispered in her ear. “I have a new trainee, did you know? I think he’s ready for his final training lesson and who better to have him work on than, say, your mother?”
This time the whimper escaped before she could stop it and his smile turned downright gleeful as he leaned back enough to raise his left hand into the air before backhanding her hard enough to snap her head to the side. She lay there for a second, staring at the senbon clenched in the quiet ones mouth. I wonder if he’s mute…or shy…he hasn’t spoken yet.
Her thoughts were rudely interrupted when her jaw was once again grabbed, her head forced to look forward once more. Her captor tapped the radio a second time, saying only to turn the volume up on this end. He forced her to watch as her mother was brought to the center of the screen, watch as her wrists were first bound then looped over a hook hanging from the center of the ceiling. Forced to watch in abject horror as her mother was lashed repeatedly with a whip, each flick of the wrist gouging sharply into already bruise covered flesh. The soft voice of her captor sent chills down her spine.
“This is your own fault you know. You failed the mission. Not only did you fail, I think you did so purposely. On any other mission, you’ve killed any and all enemy shinobi that stood in your way - yet you say this one not only beat you, but managed to steal the scroll from you as well? I don’t buy it. I think that instead of killing the Leaf Nin who showed up, I think you threw the mission.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It wasn’t just any shinobi - it was the fucking Copy-Nin. I barely got out of there alive!”
Her protest sounded weak even to her own ears. She winced, but dared not adjust her gaze.
“Ah, but if I know you, you barely put up a fight, right? What is it you always say? Ah, that’s right. Your mother’s village and your mother’s loyalties are yours too. You threw the mission in favor of that village, and for that you will be punished. Watch. Enjoy the show.”
With that, he settled back and tapped the radio one last time. The torture specialist smiled once before laying down the whip. The next instant, he was picking up a bucket of water and dumping it over the frail looking woman. Her shrill screams pierced the room as tears began to stream unchecked down the younger woman’s temples.
Salt Water. I’ll kill that bastard.
No one, however, was prepared for what happened next. After dousing his prisoner, the torturer had picked up a scalpel and proceeded to draw slow, lazy lines up his captive’s shoulders…leaving a bloody trail as the blade inched towards her neck. The older woman raised pain-filled eyes to the camera - as if looking straight into her daughter’s soul.
“Kazumi, my heart, they can’t break me, never could. You two gave me the strength to endure. Use it for yourself now and break free, little bird, just as I am!”
With a sudden lunge against her bindings, the restrained woman pressed her neck against the sharp blade before wrenching her head to the side - effectively slitting her own throat.
“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Blinded by a sudden rage, the young woman continued to scream incoherently as her chakra spiked erratically. Concentration broken, both the genjutsu and shinobi were unceremoniously dropped. It was hard to tell who was more surprised in that split second - however, that second was all her own captor had had. For, in her rage, her katana seemed to unsheathe itself and slam into his suddenly immobile body. Wrapping her hand around the hilt, fierce golden eyes fairly glowed with barely contained rage as she twisted the blade in his heart.
“Enjoy hell, you twisted bastard!”
In one fluid motion, she pulled the blade out of the man’s chest, and with a sweeping arc, decided that his body no longer had a need to hold his head. Blood rained down to drench the woman still laying on the bed; however, as her captor’s corpse began to list down, she shoved it fiercely to the side. Sneering slightly, she sat up and watched with great satisfaction as the body tumbled off the edge of the bed. Breathing heavily, she flicked the blood off her sword as she got to her feet before re-sheathing the blade and strapped it once more onto her back. Not looking at the other two men, she quickly crossed the room and replaced the seal on the door before crossing to the closet. Pushing the hanging clothes to the side, she ran a pulse of chakra through the panel and revealed a small door.
“Time is of the essence, gentlemen. I know you’ve got questions, but the answers are too complicated for the moment. All I’m asking is that you help me get us out of here. If you decide to kill us after that, we die free. I don’t know you. I don’t trust you. But my mother was a Konoha shinobi, taken prisoner early in the last ninja war. And of all the Konoha prisoners taken then, only three now remain - myself included. I can’t do this on my own. Please, I can get us to a safe location if you just help me get my brother and Obito-kun out of this god-forsaken hell.”
Her voice, which had started out strong, ended with an almost desperate pleading. Her eyes faded to warm velvet brown that was both achingly familiar yet distinctly different.
A shared glance and both of their minds were made up.