The Red Maelstrom

[23] Creeping Shadows

Rage, confusion, and self-hatred all bubbled up in Kohana's chest, bearing its weight down on her heart and reminding her of the things she could have done to keep this from happening. The memory of Orochimaru extending his neck to sink his fangs into Sasuke's skin kept playing and rewinding itself at the back of Kohana's mind. Her muscles stiffened, as though her body recalled how she had been paralyzed, powerless to stop Orochimaru.

Sasuke gripped Kohana's arm and gently moved it away. "You're hurt," he said, and suddenly Kohana became all too aware of the gaping wound at her abdomen. Sakura was going to kill her.

Kohana laughed nervously. "Yeah, well..." It hurt like hell, but she couldn't really care—not after what she'd witnessed and what Ino told her just a minute ago. She shook her head; this wasn't the time to be worrying about her wound.

"B-But Sasuke, what was that? What just happened?" Kohana stared at his face, searching for answers, but he looked just as deeply unsettled as one would normally expect. His brows were knotted in confusion, and he looked down at his hands. They were trembling. "I don't know," he admitted in a harsh whisper. "I just woke up with this power... I've never felt anything like it before."

It was an incredibly vague memory, blurred at the edges like an old photograph. Orochimaru's voice had been faint, almost drowned out by Kohana's concern for Sasuke's pain. He'd said something along the lines of Sasuke coming to seek Orochimaru for power. The power Sasuke spoke of must have been the "gift" Orochimaru had bequeathed him. She highly doubted Sasuke even heard what she'd heard.

Sasuke had been exhausted prior to what happened to him. His chakra reserves were most likely shot after all he'd done to fend off Orochimaru, but that mark on his neck seemed to be the source of a different kind of power, a power Sasuke must have unconsciously tapped into. Had he somehow been aware of what had been going on?

"My name is Orochimaru. If you want to see me again, you must accomplish this exam as if your life depended on it. In other words, you'll have to defeat my subordinates, the three Otogakure ninja."

Shit.

A severe sense of foreboding planted itself into Kohana's stomach, and for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, she felt nauseous. They'd just defeated their enemies... had Orochimaru sent them? Why?

Kohana frantically looked around until her eyes landed on Sakura locked in conversation with Ino, who was tending to her rival's hair. If there was anyone who knew more than Kohana did, it was Sakura. The pieces were slowly beginning to fall together, and if Kohana was correct, this was completely beyond what genin were capable of dealing with.

She turned back to Sasuke, hands flying to hold onto his shoulders tightly. Sasuke winced in pain, but Kohana spoke over him. "Sasuke, don't let those marks come out again, please." In response, Sasuke gave her a hard, unreadable stare, until eventually, he nodded.

"I know. It came from him, so it can't be anything good."

A tiny wave of relief washed over Kohana. "Good," she said, but she knew this wasn't over.

"Kohana-san."

The redhead immediately stood up at the familiar voice. When she turned around, she almost cried in relief. It was Lee, and he was fine. He looked a little beat up while his teammate, the one with the hair styled in buns, hovered nearby with her face pinched in worry.

Kohana touched Lee's shoulder gently. Gratitude was an irresistibly warm feeling. "Hey, Lee-san, how're you holdin' up?"

"I am fine, Kohana-san. It is thanks to you and your plan that I sustained little damage," Lee said. He smiled at her kindly. "Thank you."