Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ Ｔｈｉｒｔｙ－Ｔｈｒｅｅ
(SOLs are useless, which is why I slept through most of the one I had had this morning and speed ran the rest of it)
(So, have another update)
"So! About your crush on that Sunakagure kid-!"
Y/n flinched, giving Ino a shocked look as she was in the middle of drinking some nice lemonade.
"PFFT- I, UH, UHM..." y/n looked around nervously, sweating bullets, 'Tatsu-moron, please come and yell at me about my shots or something!'
No sign of the Blue Oni.
Y/n was starting to wish that the hospital would just discharge her already, tired of being trapped in the village with Team 10.
Seriously, it'd been so long that Sasuke had the time to get his 🍑 beat a second time and end up back in the hospital again!
"Aha... Erm..." y/n looked away, "Well..."
"Well?" Ino pressed, leaning closer to y/n expectantly while the oni gave her a sheepish look in return.
"Ahem." y/n closed her eyes, "Well, I guess his presence alone made me feel all jittery and excited for some reason. I was curious about the feeling, so I decided to attempt to get to know him more."
"Oho, his presence eh? Jittery... excited...!" Ino was all up in y/n's personal space, eager to hear more.
"Leave y/n alone, Ino, you're making her uncomfortable." Shikamaru interjected, lightly nudging the blondie away from the clearly nervous y/n.
Ino pouted, "Oh come on, she was opening up too!"
Y/n perked up, "Ah, right, congratulations on becoming a Chunin! That's a huge accomplishment, Shikamaru!"
The boy heaved a sigh but uttered a thanks to y/n before chiming, "You know what, you should definitely tell Ino about why you've got a crush on that Sunakagure boy."
"SHIKAMARU, YOU TRAITOR! CHOJIIIII!!!"
Y/n fled the scene, kicking up dust as she went.
Ugh, he just had to go stab her in the back like that!
While y/n was running away from Ino, seeking out Choji for a place to hide, Sasuke was being all depressed and 💩 in his hospital room.
Damn, hospitalized twice in less than half a year.
Y/n was not aware of most of the drama, Team 7 collectively agreeing to keep the awful stuff which happened on their last mission a secret in order to keep y/n from feeling guilty about not being there.
If she felt guilty, she could start going against the doctor's orders and training again. If that happened, it was possible for her to injure herself further.
Speaking of the devil, that upbeat aura of cheerfulness she carried with her all the time reached Sasuke before she opened the door to his room.
"Hey! Hey! Emo boy!" she greeted, "Granny and I had a lot of vegetables in the garden so we made you tomato quiche!"
Sasuke perked up at the mention of tomatoes and Granny's cooking, but immediately caught himself and pretended to be uninterested.
He was still upset about y/n head butting him to knock him out before Tsunade would arrive to heal him.
He used this as a way to get y/n to keep playing Shinobi Life with him, but he was still ticked off about her actions.
"Don't want it, huh?" y/n murmured as she chose a slice and took it from the pan as she sat down beside the bed, "Oh well, guess I'll eat it all myself."
She proceeded to shove the entire slice in her mouth and moved on to the second. Next came the third. Then the fourth.
She was really gonna eat all of it right in front of him!
She halted at the fifth when Sasuke spoke up, "You suck, you know that? You're the worst, y/n."
She only chuckled, "I know."
Y/n set down the pan and watched happily as Sasuke ate the quiche, a faint light of delight in his eyes.
The oni's smile faded, however, as she thought of Naruto's complaints. Sasuke had provoked him into a fight, and they got into trouble for it.
Apparently Sasuke ran off afterwards, and y/n vividly remembered seeing some injuries when she visited him in the hospital the following day. She'd healed them when Sasuke asked, but he offered no explanation as to where it had come from.
'Hah... it's all so confusing...' y/n thought wearily as she reached for a slice of quiche only for her hand to bump Sasuke's.
She tensed, eyes widening while Sasuke continued on and grabbed the slice he'd been reaching for. It wasn't until he took a bite and spotted the odd look on y/n's face that he paused.
"Y/n." y/n snapped out of her daze, "What is it?"
"Oh, it's nothing." she replied with a wary smile.
Nothing, huh?
Sasuke noticed the sudden absence of that cheerful aura of her's when the two of them had started eating.
It was replaced by a heavy cloud of worry then, when they bumped hands, alarm tore through that worrisome cloud like a sudden gust of wind.
Now she seemed concerned about something.
Maybe it wasn't just Sasuke who was aware of her thoughts and feelings... maybe she was aware of his?
'Nah, that couldn't be it.' Sasuke thought dismissively.
"Sasuke?"
"Hn."
"Why is it that you want to leave the village?"
Sasuke stopped, giving the frowning oni a look of shock. Okay, so maybe she could sense it too.
"What the 🚚?"
It took a moment but Sasuke recovered from his initial shock, "You won't say anything, will you?"
"I have no reason to." she replied simply, "I'm merely curious. It's your life man, I don't have a say in it. All I can do is make a recommendation and hope you follow it."
Sasuke raised a brow before sighing quietly, "Alright, listen closely. I'll tell you, just don't freak out."
Y/n did remain calm, but she was internally freaking out as Sasuke recounted how he received those injuries that the Oni had healed for him.
Apparently, for Oto-Nin had confronted him about the Curse Mark and had told him that the Orochimaru dude could give him more power or something.
"So you're going?" y/n questioned.
Sasuke nodded once.
Silence filled the air between the two before y/n decided, "I'd like to go with you. I wanna make sure you get there safely. I promise to keep quiet afterwards."
"What? Why?" Sasuke demanded.
"Is it so wrong for me to be concerned for my teammate?" y/n questioned, "There's this weird aura about you. I've felt it before, and I don't intend on ignoring it a second time. I'm going to make sure you safely get out of Konoha at least, then I'll back off."
Sasuke glared at y/n while she stared back with a serious expression. She was still capable of beating the 💩 out of Sasuke, and she'd just follow him if he said no...
"Fine."
"Bet."
"But you've gotta swear to silence!"
"No problemo." y/n confirmed then clapped once, "Now! Let's finish this quiche! We can't plot our grand escape on empty stomachs, y'know?"
Sasuke didn't like how nonchalant she was being.
But, it was somewhat reassuring for him.
The itty bitty part of him, a part he wasn't even aware of, which was afraid suddenly disappeared. All because one oni girl offered to go with him and keep his secret.
Ha, y/n just had that effect on people.
Y/n wasn't comfortable.
She was actually super jittery.
She left home under the guise of searching for a missing cat that she was sure she'd spotted on the way home.
Granny didn't question it, even when y/n took her kanabou along with her. She only asked that y/n stay safe and avoid causing too much destruction.
The weirdos that y/n was meeting up with weren't too happy about her presence either, understandable.
But, something she didn't expect happened.
"She's staying."
The Oto-Nin, plus y/n, gave Sasuke looks of surprise.
"Until we're a fair distance away, y/n will stay." Sasuke continued, "She's here to make sure that everything goes smoothly."
The Uchiha glanced at the oni, "And she's agreed to eliminate anyone who gets in our way. She'll do it without hesitation, and will kill them if she must."
Y/n gulped, a little nervous as all eyes turned to her. She stood a little taller and squared her shoulders before forcing herself to relax and nod, "I... I'll ensure that nobody from Konoha interferes at all costs."
"Hn." Sasuke seemed surprised by how willing she was. He half expected her to be frightened and back off.
The four Oto-Nin shared a glance amongst each other before nodding.
"Very well," the one with short and almost silvery hair spoke first. "She can tag along. But only until we're sure that we aren't being followed."
Y/n let out a breath of relief and almost stumbled when Sasuke practically dragged her past their four escorts, "Let's go."
On a lighter note these people were real interesting!
The one with four arms was called Kidomaru! He seemed to be the most willing to chat with y/n out of the bunch! It really made the trip a bit less tense for her. And... get this, HE LIKED PUNS!!!
The big, tall one with orange hair was Jirobo.
Y/n didn't like him, period.
The dude with the second head on the back of his neck wasn't as fun and y/n found him to be very weird. Besides, she sensed two different chakra sources. He was called Sakon, and was apparently the leader of the group.
The only girl of the group, Tayuya, wasn't much better either. She was quiet at first and didn't say much, but after y/n tried to interact with her, y/n got a bunch of hurtful comments in response.
"Prick..." y/n muttered as she sat a distance away, arms crossed. She wanted to punch her in the face.
The four Oto-Nin and Sasuke seemed to be having an important conversation so she figured it was time to focus and listen so she knew what was happening.
Something about a Mind Awakening Pill.
"Your Curse Mark is currently at its first stage." Tayuya explained, "The pills force your Curse Mark into the second stage."
"However, if you move to the second stage, the Curse Mark's erosion will accelerate drastically. If things are left that way, you'll die immediately." Sakon finished, "in order to control the power of the second stage, one's body must be given the time to become accustomed to it over the course of several hours."
"Wait, so it'll kill him?" y/n demanded, hopping to her feet, "Sasuke! You're stupid, but not that stupid! Think about this before you make a decision!"
"Pipe down, oni." Tayuya warned and y/n practically growled, ticked off by this prickly lady.
"Put a lid on it, split ends, I wasn't talking to you." y/n said sharply, a hint of aggression in her voice before glaring at Sakon, "If this thing is gonna kill him, why should Sasuke take it?"
"Hear me out." Sakon hummed as he approached Sasuke and offered the jar of pills to him, "The four of us will use a Barrier Jutsu to suppress the side effects and keep you in a state just shy of death."
Hardly comforting at all!
"You expect me to place my faith in some barrier jutsu I know nothing about?" Sasuke demanded and y/n cheered internally, happy to see him thinking smart for once.
"Sasuke-sama!" Kidomaru exclaimed, "We usually serve as Orochimaru-sama's bodyguards! We know what we're doing when it comes to Barrier Jutsu, defense, Curse Marks, and Fuinjutsu."
'Because you're the fools that kept everyone out while he slaughtered the Third Hokage.' y/n thought bitterly, a fiery rage gathering in her stomach.
There was a long silence and y/n could practically see the gears turning in Sasuke's mind as he stared at the pills before shaking the bottle so one landed in the palm of his hand.
"I'm counting on you." Sasuke said aloud, glancing briefly at y/n before taking the pill.
Boy had no idea how much stress he induced in that one moment. Those four wretched words were like a curse to the girl.
A sudden gust blew through and Sasuke keeled over in pain. Ahhh 💩. Of course.
'I can't look!' y/n thought in distress, covering her eyes. She waited for the wind to die down and peeked through her fingers. They put Sasuke in a box like Nezuko, lol. Anyways, they needed to get going quickly.
Jirobo carried Sasuke while y/n had to walk in the middle of the group. Just a precaution to make sure she wouldn't try anything. Now she felt super lonely...
The only one of the group who actually talked to her was in the back. Suddenly, Sakon halted and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Things are getting troublesome already." he sighed.
"There seems to be one... no, two of them." Tayuya announced then gave y/n a glare, "You didn't call for any of your Konoha friends, did you?"
Y/n raised her hands with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Nope. I've sworn to silence. I never spoke a word of this to a soul in Konoha." '♀🐶.'
There was a long silence before Kidomaru suddenly shouted, "Here they come!"
Y/n yelped when she saw dragged to the side by Tayuya, three of them jumping to one side while Jirobo and Kidomaru jumped to the other. Genma and Raido were the names of the two Jonin who had confronted them. Ugh, just great.
"You all work for Orochimaru." Raido realized immediately and caught sight of the clearly startled y/n, "And... y/n?"
The oni kept her expression stoic, despite how much she hated this awkward situation.
"You all are on your way back from Konoha, aren't you?" Genma questioned.
"Two Jonin..." Sakon murmured then glanced at y/n, "I knew you weren't as trustworthy as he said you were."
Y/n grimaced and snapped, "I already told you, I've sworn to silence! I'm just as surprised as you are!"
"Tell you what, you can prove your innocence by doing us a favor." Kidomaru interjected, "Oni are strong, right?"
Y/n immediately became aware of what he was suggesting, "I'm just a Genin, though! These guys are far stronger and way more experienced than I am-!"
"I'm sure you'll find a way. After all,"
Y/n felt small under the gazes of all four Oto-Nin.
"You did say you'd do so at all costs."
Ah, that was right. She did say that. She promised Sasuke that she'd help him. A promise was a promise, and promises were to be kept. If a promise is broken...
"I thought you said you'd clean more than this." the old woman glared down at the little girl who couldn't even look up, too scared to do so, "Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I-I'm sorry! I meant to do more...! I just noticed that the couch had a lot of dust so I took extra time to-!" y/n began and bit her tongue to keep quiet when the old lady smacked her on the hand with a wooden spoon.
It hurt, but she'd felt worse.
"When you say you're going to clean something, clean it! If you can't even do that, you may as well drop dead." the woman sneered.
Drop dead. Y/n hated those words. She could keep a promise! She was worth something, her life was worth something! She wasn't useless, she didn't slack off, she didn't even spill Sasuke's secret!
"Oi, Oni, are you listening?" Tayuya demanded.
"Shut the hell up." y/n said sharply, giving her a glare, "You're getting on my nerves!"
She turned her gaze back to the two Jonin who were on guard as the genin grasped the handle of her kanabou before removing it from her spot on her back. It hit the ground hard and tore up the earth as y/n swung it up to rest it on her shoulder.
Raido's eyes widened and he immediately prepared to attack, "Damn it, be careful!"
Y/n's kanabou was very helpful.
With the small price of a certain amount of chakra, it could make things happen.
"Chakra first." it always seemed to say to her when she prepared to attack with it, "Chakra first, then I'll take down whoever is in your way."
'Will this suffice?' y/n wondered as she poured as much chakra into the kanabou as she possibly could. The rocky, almost crystalline, studs on the mace seemed to glow with life.
"That'll suffice."
Genma and Raido moved to attack but didn't make it in time, y/n planting one foot against the earth for stability. The single stomp seemed to shake the earth but the kanabou practically sent tremors across the continent.
The earth which the kanabou made contact with surged upwards, roots being uprooted and the ground cracking. Y/n hoped that the two Jonin would have a safe landing as they were flung up into the air, sent flying backwards as the shockwave produced by y/n's single blow obliterated the forest ahead of her.
The wind was violent, and so much brush was flying around that the four Oto-Nin plus y/n had to shield their eyes until the wind died down.
There was quiet for a moment when things settled down.
Then, Kidomaru patted y/n's shoulder.
"Impressive, little oni! Very impressive!"
Y/n blinked open an eye, curious as to what he meant, and paled at the sight of the destruction she'd caused. Ahead of her, as far as the eye could see, trees had been ripped from the ground and the shrubbery was torn clean off as well. All that was left was barren earth, the trees closest to the main path of the destruction remaining standing albeit battered.
"Hm. Come on, let's get moving!" Sakon ordered them glared at y/n, "This is as far as you go. Scram, and don't think about following. We'll kill you if you do."
As the Oto-Nin began to move once more, y/n's breath hitched, as she spotted something which filled her with dread.
She spotted the two Jonin crushed beneath some fallen trees not too far off. They were motionless, most likely dead.
Y/n immediately ran over once she was sure that the group of four were gone, lifting the trees and tossing them away.
"I'm sorry." she apologized, not to them but to her Father. She could practically see his disappointed expression.
She would heal them first, then she would make sure that they got back to Konoha safe and sound.
After all that, she'd be sure to take a moment to clear her mind. She was going to need a calm mind with all the bones she planned on breaking soon.