Running around Konoha in emergency lockdown was surreal. The streets and buildings were eerily deserted.
Shinobi jumped and ran from roof to roof, mostly in the direction of giant snakes intent on destroying anything on their path but not only in that direction.
As a matter of fact, we were running away from the reptiles, which was perfectly fine in my book.
Our destination was the orphanage on the outskirts of the city. They had sent a call for help at the start of the alert. I had remembered the report that I had been reading previously: a snake infestation couldn't be a coincidence in such circumstances.
The Yondaime had ordered Aoba, Anko, Genma, and I to investigate while everyone else went to deal with Orochimaru and his beasts. That Anko and I, the most at risk in case of a meeting with the Sannin, were sent in the opposite direction was simply convenient… or rather a case of 'hitting two birds with one stone'.
Genma was leading the team and had ordered me to stay close to him with a simple look, to which I had answered with a slight widening of the eyes that I would stick to him like glue — and without any shame — if it meant I could avoid snakes.
When we reached the orphanage, screams and sounds of combat were the first signs something was wrong. Then we jumped over a street and saw children running from the orphanage toward what I estimated to be the closest evacuation spot (I heard but didn't see a matronly woman urging them to hurry). They were late. Something must have held them up.
We understood what was going on a second later, when we caught sight of a woman in miko clothing holding her ground against three small… creatures.
"Oh, dear," I breathed.
"What are they?" Aoba asked in bewilderment.
"Children bitten with a cursed seal," Anko replied with clenched fists. "Damn you, Orochimaru!"
The miko — with the training of an elite kunoichi — wasn't fighting to kill. She never hurt them, only stopping them from going after the other children who had all disappeared from sight. Those three deformed creatures might be grotesque to our eyes, but I'd bet that she could recognize her wards despite it all. As a matter of fact, when we jumped down to help her, her first words were:
"Don't hurt them! They're victims of the seals! They can't control themselves!"
The noises the creatures made were nonsensical grunts and groans. Their eyes were wide and intense. They were in a frenzy. It was disturbing.
As I dodged a swipe of claws and parried a hit with one of my fans, I called: "Capture jutsu, anyone?"
"No harmless ones," Aoba replied with a grunt.
"Same!" Anko and Genma replied in unison.
"All my medical ninjutsu is ineffective against them. It only incapacitates them temporarily," the miko (she was Kabuto's adoptive mother, wasn't she? She reminded me of someone from the manga...) replied ruefully.
"Maiko, find a Nara!" Genma ordered.
"Got it!"
I removed myself from the fight and jumped on the nearest roof before going for the highest. I went through my pockets to find a paper and a marker, quickly drawing the Nara clan's symbol on it, as big as possible. Then I took a deep breath and whistled the customary call for the Genin Corps. I rarely used it anymore unless I needed to catch the attention of the nearest genin, but it wasn't something I was likely to forget.
Heads popped over the rooftops and turned toward me, like a bunch of meerkats. During an evacuation, the Genin Corps were responsible for helping the civilians along. Once the evacuation was over, they had to stay near the tunnels' entrances to watch out for enemy progress. They had strict orders to not engage and close the accesses if danger was getting too close, regardless of latecomers. Since the neighborhood was relatively calm, they were still reachable.
I held the paper as high as I could. The closest genins relayed it through the same way until the whistle for 'found it' (a long note which could also mean 'shut the hell up' in the Corps slang) sounded out.
A moment later, two Nara dropped beside me with raised eyebrows. I lost no time to point at the creatures below and explain:
"They are kids. We need them immobilized painlessly."
"You got it," the oldest one drawled.
The youngest, a teenage girl and probably the man's daughter, was less phlegmatic and did a double-take before whispering in a mix of confusion and horror: "Kids?!" She nonetheless jumped after her father and performed the Shadow Techniques without a hitch, catching the smallest one while her elder took care of the other two.
The creatures were frozen in a relaxed pose with wide-open eyes and growling mouths. The sight was disturbing.
"Thank you," the miko said with a relieved expression.
"Don't rejoice too soon," Genma intervened. "The Nara can't keep them like this indefinitely. We need to get them out of this state or unconscious. Anko, any suggestion?"
The teenager scowled. "The transformation will stop when they'll have exhausted their chakra. They're kids, it won't take long."
"Can you estimate it at less than ten minutes? Because anything more isn't good enough."
"How would I know?" Anko hissed with raised hands in her agitation. She was a bundle of nerves with even less patience than usual.
"Did the Yondaime tell you about the seal he used on you?" I tried to ask, to find another option.
"No! I'm shit at this fucking fuuinjutsu bullshit! It creeps me out anyway."
"I know a seal which might work," a soft voice intervened. We turned to see the miko adjusting her glasses higher on her nose. "I'm Yakushi Nono, one of the orphanage caretakers and a jounin from the medic corps. I know some fuuinjutsu, but I don't have the materials for—"
Without waiting for her to finish, I rummaged in one of the secret pockets of my obi, removed a storage seal, and activated it. A small box full of sealing furniture appeared. I handed it over to the miko. In answer to the resulting silence and stares, I shrugged and pointed out: "I'm the Yondaime's assistant. Of course, I carry those around as a backup." With the number of times he went into a sealing frenzy in the middle of something completely unrelated even out of the office, I had to. Once during my first year, he had caught me unaware and ended up scribbling on his cloak with markers (after going through his own stocks, mind you). That damn cloak was made on request and expensive, so never again.
They tilted their head in agreement and focused on the present fuuinjutsu expert.
"I wouldn't dare interact with the seal without knowing how it works, but I believe there is a way to interrupt, or at least greatly diminish, the chakra it uses. We use it sometimes for sensitive operations," she was explaining as she worked, kneeling in the dirt. "It needs to be applied on the pathway system."
"Do we need a Hyuuga?" I asked with a frown.
"No," she replied while pushing her glasses higher on her nose. "Any medic-nin worth their salt knows where are chakra pathways. The Byakugan is only essential to locate tenketsu due to their small size and individual variation."
I hummed in understanding and let her work.
As we waited in silence, the sounds of battle coming from the east were all the more audible and difficult to ignore. The snakes' noises were too high-pitched to carry, but explosions were obvious.
I glanced at Genma, hoping to find some comfort in his presence. He met my eyes and moved closer, his fingers brushing mine as he murmured in my ear: "It's alright, Yondaime-sama will handle it."
I nodded in agreement, having as much faith in the Hokage as he did, but I felt uneasy when parts of my hometown were getting blown up. I bet it included the trees. The trees always got blown up. Forces of evil were going to fuck up the climate, explosion after explosion.
"It's ready," Nono announced, standing up with a paper seal. She hesitated and glanced between the three immobilized kids-turned-creatures. She couldn't choose who to try her seal and theory on. A lot of self-confidence would be required to risk one of your wards' life.
Understanding this, I moved forward, took the seal, and chose one of the kids at random. "Tell me where to put it."
"Here," she said, tracing a line along the neck. "This is the chakra pathway supplying the seal."
I frowned, vaguely remembering a few anatomy sketches we had been shown in the Academy. "Isn't it also supplying the brain?"
"Yes," she replied somberly, "it's one of them."
"Alright," I breathed, suddenly regretting volunteering for this responsibility, but I couldn't back up. "Get ready," I told the Nara jounin holding the kid. I waited for his nod before I carefully applied the sticking paper where I was shown and applied a small quantity of chakra until it activated. Taking two steps back, I watched with bated breath.
A few seconds were necessary before we saw a reaction. The creature started to morph into a more humanoid shape, then lost its dark color for a more natural shade, dark marks slowly receding into the seal. Once the kid looked perfectly human, his eyes closed and his muscles became lax, as if he were only standing because of the shadow jutsu.
Nono checked with a glowing green hand before announcing: "He's unconscious."
"That's for the best," Genma murmured.
The Nara let go of the boy once Aoba had a good grip on him so he could be laid down on the ground safely.
We repeated the same process for the two others with the same results.
"That's a good thing taken care of," Aoba said with a smug posture.
"I'm worried this isn't over," Nono admitted, looking up from the kids she was examining.
"What do you mean?"
"Some of the older children… they went to the academy this morning. It's possible that some of them were bitten and didn't tell me."
Genma groaned and pinched his nose. "That could be a disaster."
"Especially if they are already in the shelters," Aoba added.
"I need to take care of these children first and foremost, but… here…" Nono said as she drew once more the chakra repressor seal.
I accepted it with the rest of the sealing furniture, and tuck it away in my pockets. She stopped me with a hand on my wrist as I stepped back and murmured: "Please, take care of them. And… there is… my adopted son, Kabuto, he has grey hair and glasses like mine… please, watch over him."
I froze at Kabuto's name and needed a second before I managed to smile reassuringly. "I always watch over children. I'll do my best." As I withdrew, I knew I had failed to appear natural. Nono was frowning, but she had no other choice than to trust me. I met Genma's eyes who raised an eyebrow questioningly as we walked away. I shook my head and jumped on the nearest roof.
ROOT and Danzou didn't exist anymore. Kabuto wasn't the same as in the story I had read. He had the chance to live a normal childhood (as normal as it got in the shinobi world), and I couldn't equate him to what he could have been. I reminded myself of this and swore to protect him like any other child.
The Academy, being adjacent to the Hokage tower and of high importance, was more heavily defended than the remote neighborhood we were in previously. We crossed paths with an ANBU, and Genma paused to ask:
"Are there any reports of deformed creatures, kid-size?"
"Shikaku-san has got them tied up in the amphitheater."
I was aware that Shikaku was one of the strongest shinobi of Konoha and highly proficient with his clan's jutsu, but it was the first time I saw him in action and it was impressive. He was calmly sitting on a desk, giving orders to jounin, while six tendrils of shadow extended from his feet to creatures sitting on the first row of seats, looking more or less peaceful.
Shikaku looked unperturbed, and he barely glanced at us before accepting what appeared to be a sketched map from Kurenai. "The orphanage?" he asked.
"Three of those creatures, even smaller in size, were incapacitated with the help of the caretaker, Yakushi Nono. She warned us there might be some others here," Genma reported before glancing at me.
I stepped forward and showed the seal I was given. "Applied to the proper pathway, this stops the flow of chakra toward the seal and ends the transformation, leading to unconsciousness."
"Can you apply it?"
"Yes, but I only have one and I can't replicate it."
"I can."
I turned around to see Iruka walking down the stairs.
"Do it," Shikaku ordered before turning his attention back to coordinating the defense efforts.
I stepped to the side and met Iruka midway. "Can you?" I asked, giving him the seal and the sealing furniture before he even replied.
"I would be an unworthy student of Yondaime-sama if I didn't," he replied with a half-smile. "Can you really apply it?" He was frowning, but I didn't take his uncertainty personally. He might not be looking at the children, but I knew he was worried for them. I was too.
"Take care of the fancy stuff and let me deal with sticking papers right on the line. We each have our specialties. Or do you doubt I can deal with papers, Iruka-kun?" I teased.
He snorted but graciously accepted my poor attempt at comic relief.
With the first seal in hand, I stepped in front of the smallest creature. Its jaw was clenched and its eyes were watching its surroundings intently. It seemed more focused than the three smaller ones we had to deal with before, like the child was conscious and not just a mindless beast. It stared at me with unnerving focus. I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head. I couldn't get distracted. Pulling on what remained of a too-small shirt, I carefully applied the seal where I had been taught.
As before, the transformation reversed.
The boy was around the same age as Naruto, with really pale skin and dark hair. He reminded me of Sasuke at first, until he stared at me (was it because he was older, training in the shinobi arts, or because the seal was different, that he was the first to stay conscious?). It was Sai.
"Do we have a medic?" I shouted before speaking to the boy kindly: "Hello dear. Everything is alright now, we'll help. What's your name? I'm Maiko."
"Saito."
"Well, Saito-kun, Nono-san from the orphanage sent me. She's worried about you all."
"She's going to be angry."
"Because you didn't tell her you were bitten? I'm sure she'll forgi—"
"No... because Shin died."
Stopped mid-word, I glanced at Iruka who was coming forward with Shizune (I did a double-take when I noticed a white slug on her shoulder). He looked somber. "Some of the children didn't survive the seals' activation."
"Oh," I breathed. "Oh… Well, darling, I don't think anger will be her priority." I moved to let Shizune examine Sai… I mean, Saito. I shook my head to focus on the present instead of the image of kids killed by this monstrosity Orochimaru had done. Genma, having signaled to Shikaku that he could release Saito, stepped forward, squeezing my shoulder gently with a questioning glance. I nodded to reassure him and took another seal offered by Iruka.
The next four children were in varied states, between plain unconsciousness and lucidity similar to Saito. They were all quiet and obedient, probably traumatized by what they had gone through. I didn't know what they remembered from their transformation, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
The last child was Kabuto. He was the oldest, probably twelve years old, and he looked at the kids sitting beside him with an anguished expression. "It's my fault."
"It's not," Saito replied calmly, but without looking at Kabuto. "You checked. We were fine. You couldn't have known."
"I should have told Nono-san. She would have known, she's a better medic."
"Hey, hey," I said, stopping him before he could drive himself into a frenzy. "Saito-kun is right. Yes, you could have done things differently, but you can't change the past. It doesn't mean it's your fault. What happened is on Orochimaru, not you. All you can do now, is help as much as you can and do better in the future, alright?"
He focused on me and nodded slowly. "Wh-what can I do?"
"The children know you and trust you. They need your reassurance and support. Here is Mitarashi Anko, who was one of the first people to get one of those seals, Iruka-kun, which you know from your fuuinjutsu lessons, and Shizune-san, who is Tsunade-sama's apprentice. They will all take care of you—"
"Hey! I'm not a babysitter!" Anko protested.
"Consider that an order, Anko," Genma commanded.
"Wouldn't you have liked to talk to someone who went through the same thing you did?" I asked her.
She slouched and relented. "Yeah, ok."
"They will take care of you," I repeated to Kabuto. "Can you be their liaison with the kids?"
He agreed with a slow nod. I patted his shoulder gently. For once, I didn't know what else to say. My feelings for him were too confused.
I walked away with Genma and Aoba, pushing back my hair with a sigh. It must have been barely half an hour since the attack began, and I was already mentally exhausted. Before we could speak to Shikaku and ask him what he wanted us to do, a shout sounded out in the amphitheater: "INCOMING PROJECTILE!"
We all dropped to the floor and rolled against the nearest surface for the little protection it would grant us. A second later, something connected with the wall and windows. The shock was small but, with a worrying hissing sound, it liberated a gas. Yellowish wreaths of smoke came from the air vents. They irritated the eyes and chafed at the throat and nose.
"Toxic gas!" Shizune shouted. "Evacuate the room! Stay down!"
I saw her near the door. She, Iruka, and Anko had managed to herd the children, and they were almost all out of the room.
Genma grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, extracting me from the tangle of limbs I had ended up in with Aoba. I grabbed my ex by the hand while I was at it, and the three of us ran for the door, bent in half to get as much clean air as we could.
Once outside, we were a dozen coughing and rubbing our eyes.
"Don't touch your eyes!" Shizune ordered. Iruka and Anko were leading the children toward the evacuation tunnel, but Shizune had stayed behind to take care of us. "You need water. Wash your hands and your face, then swallow several mouthfuls and spit it out!"
"Who the fuck has so much water?" someone groaned with a hoarse voice.
"Did you go to the Academy or not?" Genma croaked. "Bathroom!"
We all rushed toward the — fortunately close — bathrooms, uncaring of which one was supposed to be for boys or girls. The bathrooms' floor ended up covered in water as we rinsed in a hurry.
Drying my face with a handkerchief, I glanced at myself in a mirror to see red eyes staring back at me. They were still stinging. Breathing and swallowing were unpleasant. This day was just getting better and better.
"Was that snake's spit?" someone asked. "Did a snake fucking spit at us?"
"Venom. It's called venom," Aoba replied.
"Ve-nope-I'm-out-of-here, you mean."
A few stifled laughs sounded out, but the humor was short-lived in the middle of an attack. We were out of the bathroom the next moment. Shizune had left. Shikaku was now holding court in the library, looking unscathed — I'd bet that he had managed to leave the room before the gas, somehow.
"Wow. You all look like shit," a voice pointed out.
A mix of "fuck you, Uchiha" and "shut up, Shisui" was our collective reply, and Shisui raised his hands in surrender while laughing at our chorus.
"My bad. Well, Genma-san, Aoba-san, you're with me. If you want to get some snake for dinner, now is your chance."
Genma hesitated. He had been ordered by the Hokage to stay with me, after all — S-class assets needed to be protected in case of emergency and all that.
Shikaku resolved his dilemma by calling me and gesturing for me to join him. "She'll stay with me, Genma. Go."
"Yes, Commander."
We kissed briefly. A moment later, the team of three was jumping out of the nearest window and I took my place of assistant by the Commander's side.
oOo
Jiraiya arrived an hour after the start of the attack. On one hand, more power for us: great! On the other hand, three sannin and the Yondaime fighting each other: architectural disaster.
Apartment blocks were destroyed, as well as a school, numerous shops, and parts of the Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Aburame compounds. A bridge and parts of the outer wall had been demolished. A reprocessing plant had burst open, discharging trash in the Nara forest. A water tower had been smashed: five specialists of water jutsu had to channel the waves into a useful force against the snakes to avoid flooding. It was such a waste.
Another dozen creatures (bigger, so older victims) had been stopped from rampaging through town and dragged to the handful of people who had been taught how to deal with them. From time to time, I was interrupted in my administrative work by a "Sorry, ma'am, I was told to bring this seal to you. I don't know where I'm supposed to stick it on this… guy?". The creatures were so grotesque that I sometimes had difficulties locating the proper chakra pathway. In one instance, we had to hail a passing Hyuuga and get him to do it.
At an hour and ten minutes, there was a sudden silence. No more explosions. Nothing.
We looked at each other, wondering if that was it, Orochimaru was defeated. There was still a giant snake visible from the window.
After a few minutes in a state of uncertainty, an ANBU appeared and announced: "Orochimaru has taken one of ours hostage and asked for negotiations. Shikaku-san, Maiko-san, you're required."
The astounded silence was broken by Inoichi: "Who? Who is the hostage?"
"Shiranui Genma."
I grew pale, let out a sound of dismay, and dropped the pen I was holding. The world seemed to have shifted, leaving me unbalanced, and I was grateful to be sitting.
Shikaku gently called for me and helped me get to my feet. "Trust us," he murmured to me.
I nodded. My faith in him and Minato was the only thing keeping me relatively calm. This was just a temporary hitch. Everything would be fine soon enough. I was sure of this. I refused to imagine anything else.
Shikaku ordered me to hold onto him. I closed my eyes at the disagreeable sensation of being a passenger during a body flicker jutsu. We stopped on a rooftop near the battlefield, to see Gamabunta facing Manda. Katsuyu had disappeared after getting rid of one of the giant snakes — or at least I thought so until I noticed the smaller white slug on Tsunade's shoulder.
The air smelled of woody but sulfurous smoke (burnt trees, definitely, and too many explosive seals). A broken fountain was spewing water, which was blown around by the wind.
Shikaku jumped on Gamabunta's back and put me down so we could run all the way up to the toad's head, where Minato, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were waiting. However, Minato joined us mid-way, where we were out of sight of Orochimaru.
"I'm sorry, Maiko," he said with a hand on my arm.
"What happened?"
"I believe this was his goal all along — or at least one of them, he didn't hide his distaste for Konoha and his willingness to do a maximum of damage. He wants something from you. I don't know what, but he wants to bargain for you, and I won't let that happen."
"But, Genma…"
"I won't let anything happen to Genma, either," he said firmly. "Shikaku, I need your genius."
Shikaku hummed and scratched his goatee. "Do you have an idea?"
"You won't like it," Minato warned with a smirk.
"I never like them. Your ideas are the craziest, and it's my job to make them realizable," Shikaku sighed, "but I accepted that job, for the better and the worst."
"Maiko…"
"I'd do anything for Genma. Just tell me what to do."
oOo Genma's PoV oOo
This turn of events was extremely annoying. As a bodyguard, Genma wasn't accustomed to being taken hostage. He wasn't supposed to be important enough to find himself in that kind of situation. He didn't recall having done anything to catch Orochimaru's attention either, so his only guess was that Orochimaru's spies network had pegged him as valuable enough for the Yondaime to negotiate. To his bewilderment (although he wasn't really surprised, the Hokage was a good and diplomatic leader who cared for all his shinobi, but this felt surreal nonetheless), this was exactly what was happening.
To be bounded by a living being was a new experience too, and he wasn't really fond of it. The long snake constricting him liked to squeeze from time to time, cutting his breathing for a few seconds. The beast was as sadistic as its master. Its venom-coated fangs were also hovering too close to his neck for his liking. Lying on his side at Orochimaru's feet (which was another reason to be pissed, his dignity was taking a hit), Genma barely felt his hands anymore.
He was trying to stay calm and not let it get to him. At least, he was glad that Maiko wasn't in his place (this time). He knew that the Yondaime wouldn't let anything happen to her.
At this moment, Maiko appeared on Gamabunta's head, near the Hokage, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. She looked alright but concerned. Geez, when Kakashi would hear about this, Genma would be ridiculed for weeks for worrying their girlfriend (how the tables turned).
"Maiko's here, as you requested, Orochimaru. What do you want?" the Yondaime asked, raising his voice to be heard.
"Isn't it obvious?" Orochimaru replied snidely.
"Don't waste our time!" Tsunade shouted. "We told you there would be no exchange so get to the fucking point!"
"How little they care for you," Orochimaru told Genma, his voice too low to be heard by anyone else, "but then you're just a spare, easily replaced by your boss and your lovers."
Genma only replied with a disdainful stare. This kind of taunt wasn't worth his attention. He would have made a snarky comment, but his previous retorts had been met by a hissing threat from the snake-rope anyway (not that it would have stopped him if he really wanted to talk, but Maiko's nightmares about swallowing snakes had been more catching than he'd thought).
"Very well," Orochimaru said louder, "no exchange, but I want to see the seal . Let her come, alone."
"She's not going anywhere near you alone, you bastard!" Jiraiya shouted. "I'm coming! Move your slimy ass!"
Orochimaru hissed in annoyance as Jiraiya caught Maiko by the waist without waiting and jumped over the distance separating them. Orochimaru side-stepped them while Genma was moved over by the snake unrolling itself a bit.
"There. Now, nothing untoward, buddy, I'm keeping watch!" Jiraiya warned.
Orochimaru rolled his eyes. " You 're the pervert here."
"Ha! I know y—"
"Could we get this over with?" Maiko interrupted with an impatient glance at Jiraiya. She pulled on her shirt to reveal her midriff, pinching Jiraiya when he got an eyeful. "Focus!"
Genma kept his face blank, but he felt like something was off. He couldn't really define why, but Maiko had never looked at him or the snake, entirely focused on Orochimaru. That was unlike her.
"Right, the seal…" Jiraiya said. "Well, to be honest, bastard… you're ten months late!"
What followed happened in a couple of seconds: Jiraiya attacked Orochimaru, Maiko stabbed the snake holding Genma, a kunai flew by, the Yondaime appeared to join the fight against Orochimaru, and Maiko transformed into Shikaku as he grabbed Genma and jumped away from the smoke left by the snake summon's departure.
"Shit," Genma breathed. So that was the issue with his girlfriend. "You make a surprisingly good Maiko, Commander, it's uncanny."
"Don't make it weird," Shikaku replied, catching himself on a neighboring roof.
"Don't worry, I'm not opening that can of worms." Genma stood up on his own, rubbing his abused ribcage with a wince (he was expecting bruises).
"Commander," Shisui said as he appeared on the roof by their side. "I dropped Aoba by the hospital. His injuries are severe, but his prognosis is good."
Orochimaru had basically steamrolled Aoba to catch Genma. It was proof of Shisui's speed that they had reached the hospital in time. Genma had been convinced that he would have to announce his death to Maiko.
"Good—" Shikaku started.
A scream turned their blood to ice. That was Maiko.
oOo Maiko's PoV oOo
I gritted my teeth as blood trickled down my pants.
I had been waiting in a nearby street, watching the confrontation between Shikaku and Orochimaru, ready to attract the sannin's attention if necessary, when I had been attacked from behind.
The traitor had stabbed me in the thigh. He had also purposefully torn my pants to show the injury and blood. I didn't have time to wonder why. He jumped on Gamabunta's back and pushed me in front of him. Tsunade, ready to punch the living hell out of him, froze, paralyzed by her hemophobia. The bastard had planned this, using her only weakness against her.
The fight between Orochimaru, Jiraya, and Minato had paused.
The missing-nin asked snidely: "Now, can we have a decent conversation?"
Gamabunta had gotten his quota of human conversation and became impatient. I felt him move under my quivering feet as he grumbled: "I'm not a stage for showmen. Let's even this field." The giant toad nonchalantly stabbed Manda, and they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke… right under our feet!
I squealed as I fell from a building's height. The traitor was holding my arms behind my back, my right leg was on fire, and there was absolutely no way I could catch myself without breaking a few bones.
Fortunately, the smoke was the perfect cover for an attack on my assailant. I heard a punch, a grunt, and then I was pulled to the side in his fall. This time, I was free! I made an attempt to adjust my position, but I was grateful when someone caught me before we reached the ground.
"Hey, sweetheart."
I threw my arms around Genma's neck and squeezed in thanks, fear, and relief mixed. Over his shoulder, I caught sight of Shikaku holding Tsunade, and Shisui sitting on the traitor's back and tying his hands.
Behind us, I heard the telltale sounds of a battle. Orochimaru and his two opponents had started anew in the middle of the trampled square, hidden among tendrils of smoke.
"We need to bandage this," Genma said, staring at my thigh worriedly.
"Get us out of the way of the sannin first, please and thank you," I requested.
We moved into an adjacent, calmer street. ANBU met us there, and Shisui handed his prisoner to them. I didn't have the occasion to see his face before. I knew him — I knew most shinobi passing by my office. If my memory didn't fail me, he was a former student of Orochimaru, a teammate of Anko. That wouldn't help her reputation. She was going to be pissed.
"How is she?" I asked about Tsunade as Genma and Shikaku dropped us off on a windowsill, side by side.
She was shaking and looked white as a sheet. Her breathing was too fast. Her summon, Katsuyu, was trying to talk her through the panic attack.
"Compromised," Shikaku replied.
"You should probably move her away from me," I pointed out. "Better yet, just take her back to Shizune, she'll know how to help."
Shikaku nodded and signaled for Shisui to comply.
"You need a medic," Genma said as he wrapped my thigh in gauze to slow the bleeding.
"I'll send one your way if I can," Shisui promised before leaving.
"Commander!" an ANBU shouted from a nearby roof. "They're moving this way!" He gestured for us to run further. Genma didn't waste time in complying, lifting me again in a princess carry.
A wall crumbled in a wave of dust and fell down where we had been a moment before. I hid my face in Genma's shoulder to protect my eyes and airways.
"I need to coordinate the efforts," Shikaku said. "Genma, secu—"
Interrupted by a white snake jumping at us from a gutter, the Jounin Commander transformed it into a pincushion for shuriken. His reflexes were impressive, but the beast burst into smaller ones, forcing Genma and Shikaku to separate and flee to higher ground. I squeezed Genma a little tighter at the hissing noises and triangular heads pointing their forked tongues in my direction. They were like a carpet of cat-size slithering nightmares. My jaw was clenched to hold back a squeal of fright.
"They're targeting Maiko!" Shikaku warned.
"Worry not!" A familiar voice shouted. Gai made his entrance with a somersault and started to stomp on snakes with the grace of a dancer and the velocity of a master chef cutting vegetables. "The Green Beast of Konoha will not allow any of those beasts to reach my rival's precious loved ones in his absence! I'll protect you!"
"Did he take dance lessons?" I asked as I watched his fight in morbid fascination, admiration, and gratefulness (my new hero!).
"Yes. He dragged me to them too. Don't ask. I don't want to remember it ever again," Genma demanded.
Speechless, I jotted that down in a corner of my mind and then shook my head to focus on more pressing matters. "Why is Orochimaru obsessed with my seal?" I hissed. "He already studied it!"
"Well, darling, I'm not really eager for the opportunity to ask him," Genma replied, jumping from roof to roof as he fled.
There was an explosion where we came from. Its heat warmed our cheeks bitten by the wind and its force led Genma to stop to secure his footing. I glanced over his shoulder. "I don't see any snake anymore… Did they get Orochimaru?"
"Considering he's worse than cockroaches, I'm not calling victory until the Yondaime told me so," Genma replied as he resumed his run.
We were met by a medic-nin and her bodyguard (in a war zone, every medic had to be escorted) on a flat roof. Genma paused to let the doctor do her work.
I let out a sigh of relief when the injury closed. I had been gritting my teeth and clenching my fists to keep the pain quiet and not worry Genma — each time he landed, the shock had sent a new twinge through my leg. I had even managed to cut my palm with my nails. "Bless you," I murmured to the medic, who smiled in reply before disappearing toward the nearby hospital. She probably was overworked.
Finally able to stand on my own feet, I flexed my leg carefully. It was still tender, but I could move without the risk of blood loss.
An ANBU stopped by a second later and announced the best news of the day: "Orochimaru has been defeated. Yondaime-sama is asking for you to bring Item 4074."
My sigh of relief was interrupted by my surprise at the request.
"What's wrong?" Genma asked.
I shook my head before turning toward the Hokage tower. "It's in the private archives."
Genma accompanied me without protest. However, as soon as we were alone in the secure archives, he caught my elbow and raised his eyebrows expectantly.
"It's my seal," I explained in a whisper. "4074 for 'death - void - luck & death'. It's the transcription of my seal."
"You think it's a trick of Orochimaru?"
I frowned. Actually, that wasn't what I had in mind at all. "Do you think this ANBU was a fraud?"
"No, it's— I mean, I can vouch for him."
From his answer, I supposed I knew this ANBU in his day-to-day life. Raidou or Iwashi, maybe? The hair would match. However, that wasn't something I should think too much about.
"Then, no, I don't think that's the issue," I replied as I opened the compartment holding the large scroll. "There must be a reason why Yondaime-sama needs it, however. Something linked to Orochimaru's obsession with it." I removed the scroll and was surprised to see my fingers tremble.
I had been rid of this seal months ago, thanks to the combined efforts of Minato and Jiraiya, as well as the attentive monitoring of Tsunade (who had to revive me when my heart failed at the removal of the seal… a detail which Genma and Kakashi weren't privy to). It had felt like the removal of a sword of Damocles, freeing me of a low but constant anxiety. I had felt so much better afterward, convinced that this part of my life was over and done with.
I hadn't realized how much being forced to deal with its presence (even inactive) again would affect me.
"Hey," Genma breathed, pulling me in his arms. "It's alright, sweetheart. Deep breath in, slow breath out."
After a few respirations, I was calm again and nodded to inform Genma he could let me go. Straightening, I closed the compartment and wedged the scroll under my arm. This stupid thing couldn't hurt me! It was just ink and paper, that's all. Determined, I moved toward the door with long strides. "Let's get this done!"
"That's my girl," Genma chuckled.
The attack on Konoha had stopped with Orochimaru's death. The town was quiet, only troubled by shinobi assessing the damage to plan the first priority measures. Any fire started by the fighting had been extinguished, and the smoke was dispersed by the wind.
The square which we had left only a dozen minutes before was surrounded by a gaggle of shinobi trying to catch a glance of Orochimaru's corpse. It was morbid, but I was well placed to know that his death was also difficult to believe unless you had concrete proof. I noticed Anko in the crowd.
ANBU let us reach Minato and Jiraiya, crouched over a body. Once I got a good view of it, I had to take a second to control my gag reflex. Orochimaru had been hit with a Rasengan in the left shoulder. His left arm was separate from the body, his rib cage open, and his heart reduced to a bloody blob. His face was scarred with concentric lacerations. It wasn't pretty, and it stank of blood and other bodily fluids.
I cleared my throat, decided that I could care less about dignity, and pinched my nose before offering the scroll to Minato.
"Thank you," he said distractedly, applying his chakra to the sealed lock to unroll it. "I'm sorry to force you into this position, Maiko, but a Hyuuga has informed us that a… lost soul hovers around Orochimaru's body and, considering his obsession with your seal…"
"You think he used the seal on himself," I concluded. That was actually the theory I was toying with.
"Yes."
"He and his fucking obsession with immortality," Jiraiya grumbled. I pretended not to see the tears he dried as he rubbed his eyes.
"Sensei?" Minato was looking everywhere but at Jiraiya, like everyone around.
"Yeah, yeah, go on with it," the sannin sighed.
No one was surprised when they indeed uncovered the same seal.
"The idiot must have realized too late that he was stuck in his body, which explains his blind obsession with you, Maiko. He wanted to use you somehow to reverse his mistake," Jiraiya pointed out as he stood up. "It's unlike him to make such a stupid mistake, though."
"He was seriously hurt during our previous confrontation, was he not?" Minato pondered. "He might have been pressured in utilizing the untested seal on himself by his medical condition."
"Possible," Jiraiya agreed. "It's the only explanation that makes sense. Well… let's get this over with."
"Sensei, I can…"
"No," Jiraiya replied firmly but shortly. He didn't explain himself, and Minato didn't insist.
We were ordered to step back. I moved further as I understood what was going to happen. I felt the heat of the flames as the body was burnt to ashes and smelt the accelerant used to hasten the combustion, but I didn't watch. Orochimaru might have been an enemy, but his fate could have been mine and that was a disturbing thought.
The sun was getting low on the horizon as this nightmarish day ended. I looked at the clutter of stones that used to be a fountain and rubbed the back of my neck as I realized that work was far from over. I had to go back to the office to organize the reports which would pour in.
"Hey," Genma whispered as he embraced me from behind. "Are you alright, love?"
"Yeah," I murmured, squeezing his hand. "I'm glad you're here."
He kissed my temple before chuckling and pointing his chin toward a roof. "Guess who is late to the party?"
An ANBU team was gathering on the roof. Its leader had silver hair defying gravity.
oOo Kakashi's PoV oOo
"What the fuck did we miss?"
Kakashi didn't take note of who had spoken. His eyes had been drawn to two silhouettes in the middle of the destroyed square. Genma, then Maiko, looked back at him. They were disheveled but uninjured — or at least that cut on Maiko's thigh seemed to have been dealt with. Since he had already caught sight of Minato near the pyre, that was all he needed to know.
Kakashi made a sign toward an adjacent street before telling his team: "Back in a sec."
Before they could protest, he jumped into the back alley and hid under a porch. Genma and Maiko joined him a moment later.
As soon as she saw he had removed his ANBU mask, Maiko ran in his arms. He caught her and twirled her around to offset her momentum, pulling her close enough for her to cling to him with her legs around his waist like a koala.
Chuckling, Genma walked to them more nonchalantly and squeezed Kakashi's shoulder. "Late again, but just in time for the hugs."
"Maa, you know me. What did I miss?"
Maiko kissed his masked cheek loudly. "Genma got kidnapped, I got stabbed to the thigh but I'm healed now, and Yondaime-sama and Jiraiya-sama kicked Orochimaru's ass permanently. There were too many snakes, and Orochimaru gave a cursed seal to some innocent people, including children, so that was a mess, but we should be fine now. What about you?"
"Aah. Tobi's dead."
Maiko uncrossed her legs, her feet connecting with the ground loudly. She took a step back to check him over, while Genma straightened and did a similar double take.
"I'm not injured," Kakashi added as he scratched his cheek through his mask (sweat and dirt made it itchy).
Genma and Maiko exchanged a look before turning back toward him with raised eyebrows.
"I might want to cuddle, read and sleep for a week," he admitted reluctantly, in a very low voice.
They hugged him and kissed his cheeks, each on one side, without a word.
"I feel like this day is far from over yet," Maiko murmured, "but I promise you we'll be there for you as soon as possible."
He nodded and kissed her forehead, before clearing his throat. "I should go now. I need to strangle my team for eavesdropping."
They looked over their shoulders to see heads disappearing behind a nearby roof.
When Kakashi jumped on the tiles, hidden anew behind his ANBU mask, Rin, Itachi, and Utakata were the only ones not pretending to be focused on the square.
"I was ensuring your privacy and anonymity were respected," Itachi replied primly at Kakashi's prompting.
"What Itachi said," Rin replied, but he could hear her mirth.
"I was curious to see your loved ones," Utakata chipped in. "You're a lucky man."
Kakashi groaned and shook his head. "Let's get this damn mission over with. I don't want to see your faces for a week."