Another Nine-Tails?!

Akiko Uzumaki

'Where are they?' The red-haired girl thought, looking at each of the students. Her dark purple eyes landed on the onyx-eyed boy, who shrugged at her unspoken question. She sighed, glaring for a short moment.

A puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the room, the sensei in charge of the class had his missing student tied up. "Tomorrow is the Ninja Academy's graduation exam. You have failed the last 2 times!!! This is no time to be causing trouble, moron!!" He lectured.

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde boy mumbled on the ground.

"Time for a review on the Shadow Clone jutsu. Everyone line up!!!" The brown-haired man announced. Most of the class began to groan. "Transform perfectly into me!!" Everyone got into a line and they each took turns. "Right. Well done. Next up, Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde he brought back stepped forward.

"This is all your fault." Some kids behind him muttered angrily.

"Like I care." He muttered back. Smoke began to surround the young blonde and he changed. The smoke lifted a little bit to reveal a gorgeous woman with long blonde ponytails. She was completely naked and the only thing covering her was thick smoke. She blew a kiss at her sensei. Blood shot out of his nose, flinging him backward. "Hahah!! I call it Sexy jutsu!" Naruto changed back, a large grin on his face.

"You dumbass!!! Don't invent stupid skills!!" The sensei gave him a good, long lecture on why he shouldn't do things like that and that it's not a good thing for a potential Ninja to do. He also said that Naruto was to go and scrub off the paint on the Hokage's heads once school was out, and he would be watching over the process.

The moment he took a breath, the redhead intervened. "Iruka-sensei."

"What!?" He spun around, facing her with an irritated expression. "Sorry, Akiko." He apologized with a grin, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm gonna go. Naruto," he boy looked at her, a small pout on his lips. "Be good for him, 'kay?" He nodded, watching her leave the classroom.

-:-

The teen entered her shared home with the blonde, confused for a moment. She waited in the doorway, and waited, and waited some more. Nothing coming barreling at her from the depths of her house.

"Maru?!" She called into the small apartment. No response. "What in the..?" She quickly did a sweep of her home. Nothing.

She rushed outside, slamming the door behind her. Going full speed, she ran across the many rooftops in the village. Every time she jumped off a building, she checked the alley between buildings. She grew worried the longer it took. He wasn't the biggest of dogs, or the stealthiest.

Akiko jumped down, now running through the streets. She suddenly collided with something. The girl rubbed her head, looking at what she ran into. Her eyes widened when she saw she ran into a boy. The boy was a few years older than her, ash-colored hair pulled into a ponytail. He wore mostly purple, with a white undershirt and cloth around his waist.

She quickly stood up, helping him up as well. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't see you." She apologized, bowing slightly.

"It's alright. It doesn't seem like either of us are hurt. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She spotted a book laying on the ground and picked it up. "Is this yours?" She held it out to him.

"Oh..!" He searched his body for a moment, his eyes wide. "Yes. Yes, it is. Thank you. It's one of my favorite books, I've had it for years. My name is Kabuto Yakushi. What's yours?" He held out his hand.

"I'm Akiko Uzumaki. It's to meet you." She smiled slightly as she shook his hand, momentarily forgetting her problem. "Umm, did you happen to see a white dog with red eyes, by any chance? He has a spot of silver fur over his left eye." She asked.

"A white dog? Hmm... I actually have. He went that way." He pointed behind him. "Why are you looking for him? Dog sitting gone wrong?"

"No, he... he kinda belongs to me, and somehow got out today. Thank you, very much..!" She moved past him, dashing off to the direction he pointed to.

She ended up in a secluded spot within the village. She looked around, spotting her canine quickly. "Maru!" He lifted his head at her voice. "There you are!!" Any tiredness he had disappeared when he realized who she was. He dashed to her, jumping into her arms. She knelt on the ground, cuddling her white puppy. A twig suddenly snapped behind them.

She stood up, all of the nerves in her body standing on end. A man walked out of the trees surrounding her. She recognized him as one of the Sannin. The golden eyes he stared at her with reminded her of the most beautiful but deadliest of snakes.

"Why are you so tense, my dear?" He chuckled, exposing abnormally sharp canines. Sharper and much deadlier than hers or Naruto's.

She straightened up, trying to show him she wasn't afraid. "I'm sorry, but I have to go home. I have a little brother who I'm sure is worried about me." She bowed slightly at him, showing him some form of respect. He was a legendary shinobi after all, and she would admit she looked up to him. But when she came face-to-face with him, alone, the only thing she could think about was getting out alive.

"What is your name, child?" She froze, taking a sharp breath in. She looked behind her before in front of her. Her eyes grew wide, and she covered Maru with her jacket.

"I-I can't talk. I'm really sorry. But I have to go." She tried to smile, though it appeared to be more of a grimace, and walked past. That was her first mistake. Her arm brushed against one of his just slightly, and goosebumps covered her entire limb. That was her second mistake; letting him near her. Like lightning, he held her arm tightly. She was sure it would bruise. "Let me go, please." She twisted her arm, but he wouldn't let go. Fear grew from deep inside her stomach.

"Are you afraid of me?" She shook her head quickly. Too quickly to convince him of anything. "Don't lie to me."

"You're one of the Legendary Sannin; Orochimaru. Now please, let me go. My brother is waiting for me. I'm all he has."

He released her, taking a step back. "You're brother?" She slowly nodded, her heart-rate picking up as he looked at her with another grin. "Who would that be?"

She clenched her jaw, a glare settling on her face. "None of your business..!" He pulled her closer by her arm. She pulled out a kunai in a flash, holding it at his throat. "Let me go." Her voice was strong, as were her eyes, though he could clearly see her shaking hand.

He suddenly released her, taking a step back. Akiko blinked, confused at his actions. Maybe he lost interest. That's what she thought, at least. Despite her confusion, she kept her guard up. She took a few steps back, keeping her eyes locked on the man. When he made no move, she took the chance to run. With her back turned, she didn't notice the snakes coming towards her until they surrounded her.

Akiko jumped into the trees, one arm keeping Maru hidden and protected. She dodged every snake that jumped out at her, killing those she saw too late. After killing one, she failed to notice another one that jumped out at her, latching onto her right thigh.

The long haired girl yelled, falling from the trees. She rolled on the ground, her back landing against a tree harshly. Using the same kunai she killed all the other snakes with, she stabbed the head of the one latched onto her leg. Grabbing its tail, she pulled it off of her and flung it away.

"Well, well. Don't you think that was a bit much?" Orochimaru appeared from the ground in front of her, kneeling in front of her. She glared, grabbing onto her injured leg. "Oh, don't give me that look. Don't worry, my dear, you won't die. I can help you." As he placed a hand on her shoulder, they both began to sink into the ground. The girl tried to fight back, but it was pointless with whatever snake had injected its poison into her.