Decaying Bluebells

Arc VIII - Taken

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this?

Warning: Urk. Death?

Beta: Kalafina94

Beta: silverseed

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

A week after returning from our vacation —I mean mission— I found myself returning home to Naruto and Sasuke after training with Papa late one evening.

I was feeling incredibly content, as the beautiful bright sun was nearly entirely gone from the sky. It left behind only a warm violet-pink that faded into a cool indigo blue. I made little to no noise as I padded softly through the dirt path, alone.

As I took another turn, the Uchiha District now in sight, two strange shinobi landed in front of me.

Again, I felt the achingly familiar wave of déjà vu come over me, but not too strongly this time. I felt two more presences appear behind me, and a frown pulled down on my lips.

In front of me were two boys. One of them had dark skin and dark hair, and was grinning. The other boy had pale skin and silvery-blue hair that was pulled back into a sort of ponytail. Turning my head slightly, I saw a girl with bright red hair and a large boy. They all wore similar outfits.

"Inonao, yes?" The silver-blue boy asked.

"Nao," I corrected automatically, my frown deepening. Unconsciously, I shifted into a defensive position. "How can I help you?"

"We're here on behalf of Orochimaru-sama," answered the same boy.

Immediately, I tensed, my eyes darting as I tried to calculate the nearest exits.

They all laughed.

"I wouldn't bother, bitch," sneered the red haired girl. "We'll kick your ass long before you get the chance to."

"Language," spat the large boy.

The girl only turned her sneer to him.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You," the first boy said. "By accident, Orochimaru-sama marked you, but you survived. Something which is incredibly rare not to mention your kekkei genkai has a very strong appeal for our master, but really it's mostly the fact that you survived the marking that interests our master. So very few survive, so he has even fewer test subjects regarding the mark, but you... even though you couldn't even hold the complete version, thus making yours more unstable and increasing your risk of dying significantly, you lived. Something he would have thought impossible..."

"And if I don't want to come with you?"

"You die."

It took all my willpower not to outwardly react to that statement.

"Oh, we won't kill you," the boy continued, grinning. "The Curse Mark will. You see this?" he held up a small glass bottle of pills. "This will complete the transition. You must have noticed how painful it was to have such a mark, yes? It's because it's incomplete. This pill will complete it."

"And if it's not complete, it will kill me, regardless of my sealing," I finished for him.

"Correct," he chuckled. "So really, you don't have a choice."

"You're wrong," I said quietly. "I would gladly give my life if it meant not betraying my dear ones, especially if it meant saving them. I took this mark for my Sasuke-kun, I do not regret that decision."