Another Nine-Tails?!

Hideout

The red-haired girl struggled against the pale man as he faded out of the wall. He chuckled, releasing her. Akiko yelped, tripping over her feet and landing on the floor harshly. "Ow," She turned, sitting on her butt and looking up at Orochimaru. "What are you gonna do to me?"

"I'm not going to hurt you-"

"Isn't it a little too late to say that?"

He chuckled again, amused at her words. She was right, but he wasn't going to hurt her anymore than she already was. He moved to kneel in front of her, reaching for her leg. She scooted back, holding one hand out. "If you're not careful, the venom will spread throughout your body. If that were to happen, you wouldn't be able to move anymore." Her dark purple eyes widened just a little bit, her hand twitching. "Though, I am surprised you're still able to move." He looked over his shoulder, hearing the door to the room open before softly shutting. "Hello, Kabuto."

"Welcome back." The boy nodded, his eyes moving to Akiko. "What's she doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" She recognized him instantly, though the venom was beginning to cloud her mind, making it difficult to connect the dots. Her hand felt heavy all of a sudden and she dropped it.

"Ah, there we go. The venom is finally kicking in. Do you know her?"

"I met her earlier today. She was looking for a dog. Did you find him?" His question was aimed at her versus his master. She nodded, patting Maru who still hid in her jacket. "Why is she here?" He repeated.

"She was bitten by one of my darker snakes, and the venom is just now affecting her. Since you are already acquainted with her, I'll leave her in your capable hands."

"Yes, my lord." The younger pair watched the man head towards the door. He stopped, gazing at Akiko one last time. "I believe it wouldn't be in your best interest to provoke Kabuto, my dear. So do try not to. And Kabuto, she's a smart one." The boy nodded, looking down at the girl. As if sensing his look, a small but smug grin grew on her lips.

"Of course you are." He knelt down, pulling out a syringe. She jerked slightly as she felt him touch the snake bite on her leg. "This should clear up your head, as well as aid in flushing the venom out." He slowly slid the needle into her skin. She jerked again, wincing at the sting.

"Ow."

"Medicine isn't always painless."

"Clearly." He chuckled slightly, standing up.

"Smart one indeed. Can I ask you how old you are?"

She brought a hand to her head, wincing again. "Ow... I'm, uh... 15."

"2-3 weeks for the venom to fully leave your body. During that time, you'll basically be sick."

"2-3 weeks of being sick? Yeash! Kill me now." Maru took this chance to poke his head out of her jacket. "Hey, boy." She stroked his head softly, a soft smile growing.

"You'll be fine. I'll be in charge of looking after you, so you won't die."

She looked up at him, letting out a hum. "Why are you allied with someone like Orochimaru?"

"You're not going to call me a traitor?"

"No. So you're a spy or whatever for him and you infiltrated the village. So what? I don't really care about what happens to the village anyway."

"Why not?" He grew curious about her answer, and about her in general.

"Why would I care about a village that killed my parents and shunned me and my little brother? We didn't have a choice when we became what we are."

"So, if I asked for any information on the village, would you willingly give it to me?"

"What information? I doubt you can do anything with the time an Academy teacher takes a break. Or how often that same teacher yells at my brother." She scoffed, rubbing her thigh to soothe the pain.

"Academy teacher? You're a student. Were you held back?"

"Oh, I'm not a student. I'm a Chunin, and an assistant teacher."

"At only 15. That's surprising."

"Why? Jinchuriki like me are powerful. That's why we're feared." She rolled her eyes.

"Jinchuriki? That clears up some things. That would explain why the venom took so long to affect you."

"She heals physical wounds, not injected stuff. Venom, poison, medicine, drugs and other stuff like that I would need outside help to fix. However, cuts, bruises and burns would be healed relatively quickly."

"She?"

"By beast. She's a female, and a Fox. Vixen, technically. She's the um... the Nine-Tails."

"I've heard stories about the Nine-Tails. She attacked the Leaf 12 years ago."

"Not mine. Her brother attacked the village. He's the Nine-Tails everyone fears. Nobody really knows about mine."

"What's different about yours? And who has that one?"

"Mine is... nicer. Nicer than her brother, I mean. She's polite, and calm. He isn't. He kills and hurts while she protects and... grows."

"Who has the brother?" He repeated.

She smiled, looking to the side. "My brother."

"Ah... I should have figured that out. And what's your brother's name?"

Akiko looked at Kabuto for a moment before looking down at Maru. "Naruto."