Bound to You (Naruto)

Chapter Eleven

Her vision turned fuzzy and the small barren cell began to spin. She felt herself slipping from consciousness, perhaps it was just sleeping gas.

...

Moments later, Tsuki woke lying flat on her back. There was a gentle cool evening breeze delicately caressing her skin soothing her burned flesh. Her eyes fluttered open, the moon was looming in the sky above her. She reached upward with bound hands in an attempt to catch the moon as she struggled to regulate her breathing. How did she get here? Where was she?

Her heartbeat slowed to a normal rate as she soaked in the moonlight. She could sense the presence of several people around her and knew she hadn't managed to get away from her captors. Someone stepped forward, approaching her slowly being careful not to spook her.

"We have some questions." His voice was soft and calming and there was pity in his deep blue green eyes. He wore the same attire as the men who'd attacked her, the navy pants and long-sleeved shirt with the hunter green vest overtop. His hair was a dusty golden color and was spiky in the front and fell into a long ponytail down his back. He knelt beside her but kept his distance, making no move to grab her.

Tsuki looked around carefully, there were a lot more people surrounding her on the rooftop, and they all appeared to be quite strong. She wouldn't be able to fight them all off in her current condition. Her body ached all over from the burns from the sun and the pain in her arms, the pain that wasn't hers was practically blinding. Something terrible had happened to Orochimaru.

"What's your name?" The man asked her, his voice still calm and gentle. Were they really bad people?

"Tsuki."

"Do you know a man by the name of Orochimaru?"

Tsuki hesitated as she felt everyone else tense. "Yes."

"Do you also know a man by the name of Kabuto?"

Tsuki flinched instinctively at the mention of Kabuto's name. A worrisome thought crossed her mind, it was possible that Kabuto was the one responsible for her waking up where she did, in enemy territory. "Y-yes."

"Inoichi, you should read her mind." A voice from the circle of terrifying men sounded from behind her.

"She's scared." The kind man at her side said softly, "And if you hadn't noticed, she doesn't like to be touched."

Tsuki shifted uncomfortably, what did they mean by reading her mind? Was that possible? Her colorless eyes looked to the man at her side warily as her body tensed.

"She's obviously with them, she knows them, don't be soft-." Someone else snapped.

"I'm not so sure of that." A man with unruly snow-white hair, wearing a strange sage like outfit in pale dusty hunter green and deep crimson noted as he stepped forward. He was older than the others and everyone looked to him with respect when he spoke.

"What do you mean, Master Jiraiya?"

"She was tied up and left here. I'd wager to guess she knows absolutely nothing about what they were planning and was meant to be a distraction for their escape." The white-haired man pointed with a shake of his head, "Seems like something he'd do. Sacrifice an innocent to get away." He knew Orochimaru, but he was wrong, Orochimaru would never put her at risk. It wasn't him. It had to have been Kabuto.

The man they'd called Inoichi, kneeling beside her looked to her with a reassuring smile, "Tsuki, relax for a moment. I won't hurt you." He reached out and placed a hand to her forehead.

Tsuki instinctively flinched, but her body was too beaten down to resist. She clamped her eyes shut and let out a gasp as she felt a presence within her own mind, sifting through painful memories. It was like someone was digging through the darkest recesses of her mind forcing her to relive every horrific experience she'd gone through. Dozens of memories played through in her minds eye at hyper speed. When it got to the memory of the guard, she let out a scream and gathered as much chakra as she could, turning it into an electrical current and expelling him from her mind.

"Inoichi!" The men surrounding them raced forward to apprehend the girl as their comrade fell back with a gasp of pain.

"Don't touch her!" The kind man with the dusty golden hair snapped before anyone could grab her before swearing under his breath. "The kid's been through enough, just don't touch her." His deep blue green eyes looked down at her filled with pity, "She's not his subordinate. She's his prisoner." He misunderstood, he only saw her most painful memories, filled with torture and abuse.

Tsuki cringed as her arm began to sear, it was a new pain. There was a tingling sensation, she glanced down at her arm as a black snake like mark began to appear coiling around her arm, it was the mark Manda had given her. Her body began to feel strange as if her cells were starting to dematerialize as the mark began to glow.

"What's happening?"

Tsuki gasped as she vanished from the rooftop and reappeared in a puff of smoke in some strange place she'd never been. They sky was a strange purple color with black clouds, there wasn't a sun, moon or any stars anywhere insight just a purple sky with black clouds. She had no way of telling if it was day or night in this strange place. Her legs trembled as she attempted to get to her feet. The snake like marking was still glowing on her arm. What happened?

She looked around the vast rocky wasteland. It appeared wherever she had landed was atop a sea of endless canyons of rock. Next to her was a sheer drop into a pitch-black fissure that seemed to be emitting some kind of toxic smoke. Her colorless eyes scanned her surroundings searching for any sign of life, but there wasn't any.

"Hello?" She called out tentatively as she scanned the rocky ground for something sharp enough to break from her bonds. As her gaze fell on a jagged rock on the opposite side of the wide fissure, she heard a low deep growl emitting from the pitch-black fissure.

"Who dares to disturb The Great Manda's slumber?!" A deafening voice echoed through the endless canyons.

Tsuki flopped onto her stomach and peered over the edge of the cliff, "Manda-sama? Is that you?" She felt relief flood through her as the colossal deep purple serpent rose from the fissure, his piercing emerald eyes latching onto her in an instant. "Manda-sama!"

"Hm, if it isn't the charming child, all grown up." The giant serpent's voice shook the ground and Tsuki was grateful she was lying down otherwise she'd probably have ended up falling off the cliff.

"Manda-sama, do you know how I got here?" Tsuki asked curiously as she tried to inch over to a pile of rocks and saw through her bonds.

Noticing the girl's weakened state and her struggle with her bonds, the serpent lashed out with his forked tongue and released her from her restraints. "You must have been in enough danger you activated the summoning seal I bestowed upon you." He indicated the now fading mark on her arm.

"Summoning seal?" Tsuki looked up at him curiously.

"So, I can summon you to me and vice versa." His piercing eyes narrowed into a glare, "That means that useless Orochimaru allowed you to fall into such a state. He'll pay for endangering my servan-."

"Ah, Manda-sama, it's not Orochimaru-sama's fault. Please don't be angry with him." Tsuki panted. Her injuries were starting to catch up with her. She'd been trying to hard to be strong to keep herself collected in the event she needed to fight, but now she was safe. Manda would watch over her.

"Hm. Only because you asked me, will I spare him." The colossal serpent growled.

"Th-Thank you for s-saving me, Manda-sama." Tsuki felt the edges of her vision beginning to blur.

Video- "Fear on Fire" By Ruelle