A Boy for a Flower [Naruto Fanfiction]

Part 1 - III

“Do you have anymore soldier pills?” Spanky-chan asked me so quietly, I almost didn’t hear him, “I smell someone a bit further down. Be prepared for a fight.” I nodded in response so not as to add to more sound. I reached for my belt loop where I had placed my bag of supplies for those three days. I felt nothing but air. Frowning, I looked down, obviously not seeing anything and went to reach for it again. Nothing. I panicked. Where was it?! Then it hit me: It was still outside on that rock!

I paused and considered going back to get it, but Spanky-chan hissed at me, “Hurry up, would you? The longer we stay here, the more likely we are to be caught!” Sighing that I was actually clumsy enough to forget something important such as that, I continued to cautiously walk behind Spanky-chan. There was no way to go on for long if I was caught. Like Spanky-chan had said, I had to get what I came here for and quickly leave.

Spanky-chan moved around the area like he had been in it all his life until we made it to a hallway that had some torches on the walls. The walls were orange with strange patterns carved intricately in them. Wooden doors lined the walls; too many to count. It was like a maze. A terribly stuffy and undecorated maze. I had been through a maze before, when I was young. I had gotten lost in it and couldn’t find my way out. My siblings had found me and helped me to the middle, telling me that it was the easiest maze to go through. From there, I never wanted to go through a maze; no matter how easy it was. It was different now. I was on a mission.

“Now that we’re in the light, it’s going to be harder to sneak around from here on.” Spanky-chan cautioned me, “Don’t fall behind. I know exactly where I’m going.” Spanky-chan began to move slowly, but then all of a sudden, he froze.

“Spanky-chan? What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice low.

He didn’t turn to me when he said, “This place... it’s extremely dangerous.” My eyes widened as I frantically whipped my head in all directions. There was no one, but still, but heart was skipping so many beats I was pretty sure I was going to die from a freak heart attack.

“What do you mean?” I gulped.

“I was wondering why there was the scent of snakes; now I understand why.” Spanky-chan elaborated. I was near to hyperventilating. I take that back! I didn’t want to know what he meant! “The scent of the snakes belongs to Orochimaru.” My blood finally ran cold in my veins. That rogue ninja from Konoha? What was he doing here? Better yet, why was Kabuto in league with him? My fingernails bit into my palms as I thought about it. The blood on the cloak. If he was partners with Orochimaru, of course he would have some blood on his hands. I clutched his cloak that I had taken with me just in case Spanky-chan needed to sniff a few more times. With everything new I learned about him, it just made me more and more angry with him.

“Is he here?” I wondered.

“Yeah. I sensed something evil the moment I entered here and walking farther in justified that there was definitely some distinct malicious aura.” Spanky-chan informed me. I nodded, obviously frightened out of my mind. If Orochimaru found me, he’d obviously kill me upon sight. Against a legendary sannin, I would be used as a toilet cleaner easily. I had to cover up my chakra and make sure I made no loud sounds to attract his attention.

“Let’s hurry on...,” I urged Spanky-chan. I didn’t want to come face-to-face with such a man and if possible, I’d like to escape with at least one Waterfall Maiden without that confrontation. Spanky-chan must have agreed with me because he lost that usual swing of his tail in his step. He was probably just as nervous as I was. Probably not as much so, since he had an idea where Orochimaru was whereas I had to be careful at all times, because I had no idea. I hoped with all my might that nothing bad would happen.