"So what if you can see the dark inside of me? No one will ever tame this animal I have become."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Scarlett's POV
"You want me to do what?" I asked, staring at Kakashi and Yamato like they were insane.
"You heard me," Kakashi said, "You're going to use all of your chakra natures to destroy that mountain over there."
"Exactly," Yamato agreed. "It'll be fun."
"You people have a sick version of fun..." I murmured, crossing my arms over my chest.
I had just figured out how to destroy a leaf using all of my chakra natures. It was very easy to figure out, once I set my mind to it. I manipulated a chakra nature on each of my fingertips, using them to destroy the leaf.
Mountains, however, were a whole different story.
"Now, get started," Yamato said, and then he walked away to help Naruto cut a waterfall in half.
Yeah, I know. Sometimes even I wonder if people in the ninja world are okay.
I sighed, picking my hair up into a messy bun. I stared at the mountain above me, noting that it was one of the smallest mountains I'd ever seen. Even then, however, it was still huge.
"Minxie... When you get back to this village..." I murmured, staring up at the large mountain, "I'm going to personally kick your ass."
And with that, I manipulated Minxie's chakra and began the next part of her training.
Minxie's POV
The next few days were quiet. I still couldn't manipulate my chakra. It was as if whenever I got ready to use it, it just wasn't there.
On the bright side, however, my leg was healing. I could limp a little, at least. Sadly, that was the only bright side.
Sasuke refused to talk to me. He was rarely even in the room anymore, which I figured was because he didn't want to see me. He would always be outside with Orochimaru, training his butt off.
If his goal was to make me feel unwanted, he succeeded. Big time.
I wouldn't mind being in a hideout; I mean, I was in the Akatsuki hideout all the time. But at least at the Akatsuki hideout, I had things to do. In Orochimaru's, it was terribly boring.
I missed my friends a lot, too. I didn't know where exactly I was, but I knew that it wasn't anywhere near Konoha. They wouldn't be able to find me.
I sighed as I played with a loose string from my shorts, the most interesting thing I'd done in hours. I looked around the room, shaking my head at its plain design.
How could Sasuke actually stay in here? I would've died of boredom already.
It was my boredom that led me to poking the walls with my finger. Then, it turned into drawing. Then I just started playing tic-tac-toe with myself.
Yeah, I know. I'm a fail.
The door opened, and I looked up to see Sasuke. His expression was blank, and his eyes were as dark as ever.
I kept looking at him, unable to ignore the truth any longer. Sasuke was cute before, yeah, but now... Now, he was impossibly hot.
Sasuke's glare made me instantly look away. Looks like he was still ignoring me.
I started thinking about how Sasuke had given me strawberries the other day, my favorite fruit. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. Of course, that changed when I began to receive strawberries every day. It all just couldn't be a simple coincidence.
"Why can't you talk to me?" I inquired, focusing on him instead of the wall. "Why are you so mean to me?"
He finally met my eyes. "Because I don't want you here."
"Then why'd you save me?" I challenged, standing up.
He didn't answer me. Instead, he asked a question, "Why are you still here? Can't you tell when you're not wanted?"
I glared at him. "You know, I'm sick and tired of you telling me how much you don't want me here. If you really hate me that much, you shouldn't have saved me! Just do something about your obvious dislike for me, and if you don't want me here, do something about it! No one's stopping you."
"... You're not worth my time," He said simply.
My glare harshened, and I felt my anger reach its highest point. "That's it! I'm done playing nice!"
"Hn. What do you plan on doing, then?" He inquired. I didn't really have an answer to that, so I remained silent. "Exactly. You can't do anything. There'd be no point is wasting my time on someone as weak as you."
I growled, letting my anger get the best of me. I lifted up my hand, ready to smack him across the face, but he blocked it with his left hand. I tried using my other hand, but he only caught my fist.
I brought up my leg to his stomach, but he merely grabbed my leg before I could touch him. He placed his hand under my knee, and just like that, he flipped me over.
I landed on my butt back on the floor, using my elbows for support.
"Are you finished?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at me.
I glared at him. "No... That was unfair... You cheated..." I murmured, sitting up.
"... Cheated?" He asked.
"You're like... On some freaky voodoo steroids. It's not fair... I don't even have my chakra," I explained, sighing. "Therefore, you cheated. Very badly."
"Freaky voodoo steroids..." He muttered, probably wondering if I was insane.
"Yes, freaky voodoo steroids," I confirmed, putting my hand on the hall in attempt to get myself off of the floor. That didn't work well, however, because I ended up getting cut.
"Damnit," I cursed, removing my hand from the wall so I could survey my bleeding finger. "I got a paper cut from a wall. How does that even happen!?"
I looked up from my finger to notice that Sasuke's lips had turned up in the tiniest of smirks. I smiled to myself, looking back at my finger. My weirdness mellows people up, apparently.
"Hn... Three years later, and you're still an idiot," He noted, and my eye twitched at him.
"I'm injured on the floor, and all you do is call me an idiot," I said flatly. "I feel so comforted."
"You're being dramatic," He said, shrugging. "It's just a small cut. Let me see it."
"No. You don't deserve to see it," I said, holding my finger closer to me.
"Looking at your bloody finger isn't going to be a pleasant sight," He stated. "Just let me see it."
After scowling at him for a few more moments, I gave in, letting him examine my finger.
"Hn..." He murmured, looking at my small injury. "... It's just a small cut. Kabuto can heal that easily, so it won't get infected."
"And you expect me to trust Kabuto to heal me?" I scoffed. "Yeah, right."
"Well, right now... You have no choice," He said, and I sighed, knowing he was right.
I got up off of the floor and followed him out of the room and down the long corridors of Orochimaru's hideout. I kept looking from side to side, never getting too close to any of the doors.
Sasuke noticed that, and he stared at me with dark, indifferent eyes.
"I know, I look like an idiot," I said. "But that thing came from behind one of these doors and tried to rip my head off. Excuse me for being a bit afraid."
He lapsed back into silence, leading me down a the hall. We rounded a few corners until we reached another room.
Sasuke opened the door without hesitation, and I stepped inside the room wearily.
Kabuto had his back to us, standing in front of a table with different animals in small containers. I looked at the floor instead, feeling sick to my stomach at the fact that this was where Kabuto probably created the formulas for most of Orochimaru's twisted experiments.
Our presence made Kabuto turn around to look at us. He raised an eyebrow at the fact that we're standing side by side.
"So you are capable of standing next to each other without killing one another," Kabuto mused. "Looks like Lord Orochimaru was right."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed at him, but the older man merely shrugged.
"What's the problem?" Kabuto inquired.
"She cut her finger," Sasuke explained. "I brought her here for you to heal it."
"Let's see your injury, then," Kabuto said, looking at me. I bit my lip, walking forward slowly. I let him look at my finger, and he only shakes his head. "It's a good thing you came here. This looks only seconds away from being infected."
Well, that's just what I wanted to hear.
Kabuto healed my finger quickly with his medical ninjutsu. "I'll be back with bandages in a second," He said, retreating into the room connected to the one I was in.
Sasuke was heading for the door, and I gaped at him.
"You're leaving?" I inquired, my mouth hanging open.
"Yes," He answered curtly. "I need to train."
"Yeah, but... Without knowing if I was okay?" I asked. "You don't... You don't feel anything at all?"
He stepped forward, putting us at the closest we'd been in days. He stared at me, his dark eyes boring into mine. "Did you want me to feel something?"
I seemed to forget how to speak, trapped in his dark gaze. Of course, that whole moment was completely ruined when Kabuto entered the room.
He stared at Sasuke and I, his eyes going a bit wide. "Um... Am I interrupting something?"
"No," Sasuke said, his eyes never leaving mine. "Nothing at all." And with that, he turned away from me and exited the room.
I was so confused that I didn't even realize Kabuto had begun to bandage my finger.
"What is his problem?" I asked before I could stop myself.
"I've tried telling you this before..." Kabuto said, sighing. "Sasuke is no longer the boy you knew. His time here has changed him. All that matters to him now is his revenge." He finished wrapping up my finger and turned away to put the bandages back. "Of course, that was before you showed up."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"It has a simple meaning, Minxie," He said, turning back around to face me. "You change him. Your mere presence is bringing back feelings he thought were long lost. He has been out more often, hasn't he?"
"That's because he's obsessed with training, and because he's trying to avoid me," I corrected.
"He's avoiding you because he's afraid he'll get too close to you," He explained. "You'll make him feel again... And then he'll forget about his revenge." He smirked at me. "Of course, what do I know? I'm just a medic ninja."
"Right. A medic ninja who's working for a deranged, psychotic pedophile," I said, nodding.
He smirked. "Has anyone told you that your views are very... Ah, colorful?"
I shrugged. "They might've mentioned it once or twice."
He chuckled. "Sasuke's going to be gone for a while... Would you like to help me with something?"
"Depends on what it is," I replied. "I'm not doing some freaky experiment thing."
He shook his head. "Have some faith. All I need you to do put those empty containers on that free table over there, so I can use them. Think you can do that without dying?"
"I don't know," I said. "I'm facing death more so than usual in this hideout."
"Eh, you're used to it," He said, shrugging. "Just don't go anywhere, and please try not to die, okay? For all we went through to get you here, it'd really be a pitiful end to your story."
"Your positive thinking inspires me," I said sarcastically.
He smirked at me. "Good to know. Get started."
Scarlett's POV
I hummed to myself as I watched Naruto try to cut his waterfall in half with his wind chakra. He wasn't doing too well, apparently, since he hadn't made the water move in any way.
I had already split my mountain in half, completely destroying it with Minxie's chakra. Kakashi told me to wait until Naruto got his exercise down pact, so we'd be able to finish our training at the same time.
"Hey," I said, making Kakashi look at me. "He's really not getting anywhere... Can I leave? I'll be back really soon, I promise."
"Where'd you want to go?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at me.
"I'm not sure yet," I said honestly, shrugging. "I just feel that we've all gotten a little too comfortable... Don't you think so, sensei?"
"What... What're you talking about?" He asked.
"Does it matter?" I shot back, and he stared at me.
"... I guess not. Go," He said. "But... Come back quickly."
"Right," I said, turning around. I knew he didn't trust me. He pretended things were all right, for Naruto's sake, I believed, but I knew better. Him watching me made my job so much harder.
After making sure I wasn't followed, I went to Minxie's old house and changed into my usual clothes. I let my eyes return to their original color, looking at myself dressed in all black before I left the room to stir up some trouble.
Rin's POV
"... And then we just held hands," I finished, tossing another kunai at a training dummy.
"You... You just... YOU HELD HANDS!?" Kimi exclaimed, and I imagined her almost pulling her hair out. "You were alone with the hottest guy in the village, and all you did was hold flipping hands!?"
"Pretty much," I said, nodding.
"I... I... WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" She shouted.
"Currently, I have a girl yelling in my ear while I'm trying to train," I said, holding a hand to my ear. "But, other than that... Nah, I'm good."
"Man, are you even a girl?" She asked.
"Last time I checked, yeah," I answered, and I heard a smack, signaling that she had facepalmed.
"Not like that! I meant... Come on! You could've at least kissed him," She said flatly.
"I did," I said, and I felt warmth radiate off of her, like she was grinning. "On the cheek." There was another smack, signaling another facepalm.
"You... You... UGH!" She stomped her foot. "Rin, Ryuu's hot, and he's right there in front of you! Why can't you see that you're perfect?"
"I'm blind, Kimi," I reminded, smiling. "I can't see anything."
"Oh, you're hopeless!" She announced, and I smiled again.
"Thanks for noticing. Now, I really should get back to training," I said, taking out my fans.
"Why do you train so much, anyway? You're already a jonin," She said flatly.
"I just like training. It's fun," I replied.
"Heh, go figure. Ryuu likes training, too," She said.
"I'm sure there are hundreds of people who like training, Kimi," I said with a sigh.
"Well... He hates tomatoes," She pointed out.
"And I love tomatoes," I said, putting a hand on my hip. "See? We're not the same."
"But that's just it! You guys share certain likes and habits, but you're not completely similar! It's like opposites attract, but you're not total opposites. You're the perfect blend," She said.
Suddenly, I felt a familiar chakra in the training ground, and from his voice, I knew it was Ryuu, "Hey, K- Rin?"
"Hi," I said, waving blindly at him.
"Hey," He said. "Uh, Kimi? Are you ready to... Do whatever it is we have to do for the Konoha Festival?"
"You know, I started thinking... I don't need your help anymore," Kimi replied, and I instantly knew what she was trying to do. "I'm going to have Hayato there, anyway, and the rest of the guys, plus Sakura and Ino... So, really, it's okay. But I'm sure Rin could use your help here. She's training like she has no life."
"I'm right here, you know?" I said, sighing.
"Eh, oh well!" She said brightly. "Now, I'm just gonna go... Have fun!" And then, just like that, she zipped away.
I sighed, rubbing my temples, and I heard Ryuu walk up beside me. "She did that on purpose, didn't she?" He inquired.
I nodded. "Yep. I think she's created this whole fantasy of us being a couple," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "Crazy, right?"
"... Yeah," He agreed, although it seemed a little forced. "Crazy." We stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, until he said, "So you're training, huh?"
"Mmhm," I answered.
"Could you use some help?" He inquired.
"Maybe," I said, smirking a bit. "But I wouldn't want to hurt you."
"Heh... Is that so?" He said, and I nodded. Suddenly, I was being pushed against the tree, an arm keeping me from moving. "Not feeling so hot now, are you, Princess Rin?"
I snapped out of my daze quickly as he taunted me, praying that he hadn't noticed how happy I was that he was so close to me.
It wasn't fair. One touch, even if it was just a simple touch on the arm, so long as it was from Ryuu, it set my heart on haywire. And it just wasn't fair.
Going back to reality, I grabbed Ryuu's hand and reappeared behind him. Then, taking out one of my fans, I sent a gust of wind his way, making him skid across the field.
"Nah... I'm still pretty cocky, Prince Ryuu," I mocked, placing a hand on my hip.
"Well, maybe if you weren't so cocky, you would've noticed that the person who skid across the field was only a clone," He whispered, suddenly behind me.
I brought up my elbow, planning to hit his jaw, but he merely dodged. I turned around, getting angry. I lifted a fist, ready to hit him, but he only blocked it, catching it with own hand.
I growled, suddenly getting angry. How good was he?
I lifted up my leg, about to kick him, but he was expecting that, blocking it with his free hand and pushing me back. I staggered a bit, but I recovered quickly, charging at him.
Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed my ankle, and I fell to the floor, saying, "Ah!"
I knew Ryuu was smirking by just feeling the cocky aura he had around him. Then, to burst his bubble, I swung my leg under his feet, making him fall down.
I jumped on top of, placing my legs on either side of his waist and stradling him. I took out one of my fans, touching it to his neck.
"And... You lose," I whispered, grinning at him. He seemed stunned, since he didn't respond. I smirked at him once more before getting off of him and dusting myself off.
Then, I was tackled to the ground, Ryuu on top of me in the same position that I had been in only moments before. He had his legs hooked on either side of my hips, and his hands pinned my wrists down at the sides of my head.
"You should never turn your back on an opponent, Rin," He said in his deep and impossibly sexy voice.
I felt the heat rise to my face, and without even meaning to, I leaned forward. Ryuu had the same idea, apparently, because I felt his warm breath on my face, meaning that he was edging forward.
Our lips were only centimeters apart when a familiarly perfect voice said, "Well, well... Would you look at that."
I recognized who it was instantly, and I felt my heart beat accelerate.
Third Person's POV
"... Scarlett," Ryuu said in a voice that made it clear he wasn't pleased with the Doppelganger's presence. He leaned up slowly, not looking at anyone besides Rin.
"Ryuu," Scarlett greeted with a smirk. "Missed me?"
"... I thought you were out of town," He said.
"I was," She replied. "But you know that I can't stay away from you for too long." She surveyed Rin and Ryuu's position. "Now, why can't you train with me like that?"
Ryuu ignored her, getting off of Rin. He helped the snow-white-haired girl up, and his eyes narrowed at Scarlett. "Can't you tell where you're not wanted?" He inquired.
"Ouch," Scarlett said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why so snippy?"
"Your presence never means anything good, Scarlett," He said.
She smirked. "Right you are, Ryuu," She said. She looked at Rin, who was standing behind Ryuu. "I see you're out of the hospital. The Konoha medics really work wonders, don't they?"
Rin's eyes narrowed, and Ryuu aura flipped from on-guard to protective. "Why don't we just get it over with? Why are you here, Scarlett?" He asked.
"I can't visit?" Scarlett asked, mocking hurt.
"Whenever you're here, you screw around with all of us," He said. "So just save us all the drama and tell me what you're up to."
"Surprisingly, I'm not up to anything too drastic," She answered easily. "Just the usual. Something you've all seen before. But it's not too terrible. Trust me, you'd know if it was."
"Then... What do you want?" He asked.
"I want a lot of things, Ryuu," She purred. "But I'm always after something better than before. Speaking of better... How's Hinata? Such a shame... How does one accidentally fall off a roof?"
Rin glared at her. "She's recovering... No thanks to you. She wouldn't have even been in the hospital if you hadn't pushed her."
"Go ahead. Accuse me. Call ANBU. Kill me, even. But we all know what'll happen when you do that," Scarlett said, smirking.
Ryuu looked at Rin, who was now looking at the ground with a steady gaze. As long as Minxie and Scarlett were connected, they couldn't do anything. Not without hurting Minxie, too.
"That's what I thought," Scarlett said. "Just know... I'm not here for just myself."
Rin scoffed. "That's hard to believe."
"Cute," Scarlett said, "I'll let that slide. Very soon... You're all going to realize that you need me. And I'll be ready and waiting to say I told you so. Because, whether you like it or not, you will need me." She turned around, smirking one last time.
"You can carry on here with whatever it was that you were doing. But remember... I'll always be watching."
Scarlett's POV
I crept back to the training sight quietly, my, or Minxie's, ninja shoes in my hand. I passed one of the trees, smirking when I saw that Naruto was asleep, an empty sleeping bag that was meant to be mine laid out next to him.
I realized too late, however, that Kakashi's sleeping bag was empty as well.
"When you said you'd be back soon, I assumed you'd be back in an hour," Kakashi's voice said, and I cursed to myself, slowing turning around to face him. He emerged from behind the tree, his famous book in his hand.
"I had errands to run. They took a little while longer than I anticipated," I lied easily.
"Where were you?" He inquired.
"Why? Keeping tabs on me now, sensei?" I said, smirking. His unhappy look showed me he was serious, so I sighed. "All right. Fine. I was... Out shopping with Kimi."
"You hate shopping," He said.
"Yeah, but I did it for her," I replied. "She needed me."
"Ah," He said, nodding. "See, there's only one issue about that story. And I myself find it funny. Kimi stopped by while you were gone, asking for you."
Oh, shit.
"So, obviously, you weren't with her," He continued, leaning off of his tree.
"Does it matter where I was?" I asked, trying to play it off.
"No, not really," He said. "But it does matter when you lie about it. What were you doing, Minxie? The truth, this time."
"Ugh, what is this? Twenty questions?" I asked, shaking my head. "I'm nothing to you, Kakashi. I'm not your little sister, I'm not your daughter, and I'm sure as hell not your problem. Where I am and what I'm doing has nothing to do with you."
"I care about you, Minxie," He reminded.
"Well, you shouldn't," I said.
"What's gotten into you lately?" He asked, baffled. "You're not acting like yourself. It's like you're a whole different person."
"Maybe that's just it, then," I said, shrugging. "Being out in the real world has changed me. I'm not your innocent little pupil anymore. So quit acting like I am."
"I'm tired of you behaving this way, Minxie," He said sternly.
"And what are you going to do about it?" I challenged, putting a hand on my hip. "Report me? Call ANBU? You don't scare me, Kakashi. You never have, and you never will."
"What's wrong with you?" He asked incredulously.
"Nothing. Nothing at all," I assured, smirking. "All I'm saying is... You can never be too sure of who you trust, you know? The enemy could be anywhere... It might even be me!" I smiled at him. "Oh, relax. I'm only joking. You do trust me, don't you, sensei?"
His silence told me otherwise.
I smirked, giving him a little wave. "Nighty night, sensei. Sweet dreams."