Another Take (A Naruto Fanfiction) (Complete)

Ch. 27: Break Me Down

I noticed that Ryuuko was fidgeting, rubbing one wrist with his hands. He kept glancing over at one corner of the cave, the one where all our stuff was. But every time he looked, he almost immediately looked back over at me with a guilty look on his face.

I finally sighed, getting fed up with the move. "Alright, what?" I asked. He'd done this over ten times now. "If you want to get something from your stuff, go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

"You don't understand," Ryuuko said, his voice a little scratchier than normal. "No matter how much I want it, I can't use it with a kid around. I will not be a bad influence on you, you're young."

"Doesn't matter to me," I said flatly. "My guardian smokes around me. He didn't like it at first, but right now I don't care. And my other sensei reads porn around twelve-year olds. Don't worry about corrupting me. Also, I'm a ninja."

Ryuuko looked at me for a moment, then hurried over to the corner. He reached into a pocket on one side of his pack, and pulled out a small brown pouch. He glanced over at me once more, like he was waiting for me to stop him, but I did nothing.

The man sighed, the walked back over with the pouch in hand. "Kiyomi, I'm going to tell you about this now, because in a few minutes I won't be making any sense."

I raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Fair enough. So what is that stuff? It smells... Sparkly, for lack of a better word."

"It's called Kiriyoru," Ryuuko said, opening the pouch to allow me to get a look inside. "It's a drug that makes you see things that aren't there."

"You're a drug addict?!" I questioned, my eyes wide. "Why did the Hokage send me to train with you again?"

Ryuuko rolled his eyes. "Settle down, it isn't that bad. All of my teammates are messed up, it runs in the group, I guess."

"Who's on your team?" I asked. "So I know who to avoid..." That was muttered under my breath, but I bet Ryuuko heard it anyway.

"We were all students of the Third Hokage, but we never had an official team name. Only a title, given to us after a certain battle," Ryuuko said quietly, probably reminiscing on times with his team. "We were called the Four Legendary Sages."

"Seriously?" I asked in amazement. I remember learning about them in school. And... They were brought up recently... When....?

"Yeah. It was me, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and... Orochimaru," Ryuuko looked sad at the mention of Orochimaru's name. "Lizard, Toad, Slug, and Snake."

"Orochimaru.... The guy who gave my teammate a curse mark!?"

Ryuuko looked startled at that. "Orochimaru is back in Konoha?" He looked almost excited, or happy. Definitely not the reaction I would have expected.

I frowned, but nodded. "Yeah. Well, at least he was for the Second Exam. I wasn't with them, but my team said they encountered him in the Forest of Death. I haven't heard anything about him since."

"And you said he gave your teammate a curse mark?" Ryuuko asked. "Do you know why?"

I shook my head. "I'm not certain, but it's probably because of my teammate's heritage. He's an Uchiha." I saw Ryuuko's concerned glance, and shrugged. "Not my problem. But the mark's been sealed, so I think it's fine now."

"But still..." Ryuuko muttered. "That's almost worth going back to Konoha for..." Ryuuko was looked deep into the fire. The drug pouch in his hand was all but forgotten now in light of this news, and the Sage seemed to be thinking hard.

"What was your relation with Orochimaru?" I asked cautiously. His reaction wasn't that of a friend wanting to see a long-lost friend for the first time in years, or that of someone who wants a person dead. It was softer, and with more longing infused in it. More longing than someone who was just a friend would have.