Another Nine-Tails?!

Kakashi Hatake

"What do you need, Lord Orochimaru?" The man hummed, looking over at the girl.

"I believe that Sasuke will be having his curse mark sealed soon. By his sensei."

"What does that have to do with me though? If you want to stop it, Kabuto would be a better choice. He's got more battle experience than me."

"I don't intend to fight. But if a battle were to begin, it wouldn't be a very long one."

"Oh, I get it. Who's the sensei?"

"I have a hunch, but I can't say for sure." The pair watched from the shadows as a familiar silver-haired man sealed away the curse mark on the young Uchiha. "I see... so they chose him of all people." The Sannin walked forward. "So, you've mastered the art of sealing, Kakashi? Looks like you're all grown up."

"You're-" the man looked startled at just the appearance of Orochimaru.

"It's been a long time." Uta poked her head out from behind the man, looking at the jonin.

"Hey, he looks kinda like Kabu..." the man looked down at her.

"Orochimaru..." Kakashi turned around, his visible eye glaring. He caught a whiff of Uta's scent, confusion clouding his mind. 'That girl has Naruto's scent all over her, but she doesn't look anything like him.'

"Pardon my rudeness, Kakashi, but I don't have any use for you. I'm here for the boy behind you."

"What do you want with Sasuke?!"

"Oh, you know how it is. Two guys have something and a third one's just got to have it too." The younger man didn't understand. "You haven't had it for very long, you know. Know what it is yet?" The next pause seemed like forever. "It's the Sharingan! I must possess Uchiha blood!!"

"What for!?"

"The newly created Hidden Sound village, that is my home, you see. Is it becoming clear?"

"So it's just your greed and delusions of grandeur."

"I suppose you could say that. Good help is so hard to find nowadays. Although, with some luck, you can find ones to keep." He glanced at Uta. "You see, I have a burning hate for the Fourth Hokage for taking the Hokage position from me. And I'm sure you're aware that he also has two children."

"That's right, Naruto said he has a sister. But she disappeared and he doesn't know where she is." He paused, understanding that he had something to do with her disappearance. "What did you do!?"

"He didn't do anything!" Uta shouted, taking a step forward.

"Show him who you are, my dear." She raised one of her hands to her face, lowering it moments later. Her contacts were gone, her dark purple-eyes showing.

Kakashi took a step back. "Are you going to use her for your sick experiments!?"

"No, nothing of the sorts. I need all sorts of pawns at my disposal, but she is not one of them." Orochimaru placed a hand on her head.

"So, you think that Sasuke is one of your pawns?"

"Yes, but like Akiko, he's a very special pawn. A real keeper unlike the boys who are going through the rigors of the exam right now. Those boys are disposable." The Sannin took a few steps forward.

"Stay away from Sasuke. Even if you are a Sannin, the man I am today can take you down." Kakashi growled, lightning appearing in one of his hands. Akiko looked around as she heard birds chirping, but that didn't make sense. They were underground. She felt nervousness claw at her gut. Orochimaru's laughter echoed around the room. "What's so funny?"

"You say one thing and do another."

"What?!" The blue lightning began to die down. The red-haired girl breathed out a sigh of relief. She didn't want a fight.

"The seal you placed upon Sasuke was futile! When a heart is sufficiently focused and ruthless is its desires, then, for good or evil, the end will justify any means. Sasuke possesses such a heart; the heart of an avenger." Orochimaru turned around, Akiko following after him.

"So that's how you got your hooks into him. Sasuke's not-"

"A day will come when he will seek me out. Hungry for power! Meanwhile, I believe you were offering to kill me. Care to try? Or are you all talk?" With that, he disappeared into the shadows. "Akiko, dear, is there something you would like to know from him? Feel free to ask him before going back to Kabuto."

She smiled, nodding goodbye to him before running back into the room with her brother and his teacher. "You look like my teammate. I want to know why." The man whipped around, a kunai in hand. He looked surprised that she was there, but he hid it.

"The one in front of you?" She nodded. "I don't know, sorry." He slowly lowered his kunai, figuring that if she wanted to hurt him, she would have tried to do so already. He never took his eye off of her. Just because she wasn't going to attack him didn't mean she was trustworthy. "How did you end up with someone like Orochimaru?"

"I didn't do it willingly. He took me from the village about a month ago, but I don't know why. Maybe he saw something in me. I am a chunin after all. But, compared to someone like him, someone with his status, I'm powerless."

"You're a chunin!?" She nodded. "Then why are you taking this exam?!"

"It's Naruto. I wanted- I needed to see him again. Make sure he was okay, you know."

"Your brother..." Now he understood her. "Naruto is your younger little brother, right?" She nodded, unsure of where he was going. "I get it. You're putting yourself in harms way to protect your little brother. I had one, and I would have done the same."

"You had a brother?" That made sense now. Maybe, they were brothers but didn't know it.

"Like you, my father died when I was a kid. Afterwards, I found out he had another son named Koya."

"What happened to him? Your brother?"

"His village was attacked and his mother was killed. I assumed he died too, but, now I'm thinking I was wrong. I want to have a little chat with your teammate, check something out for myself. His name is Kabuto, right?"

"Yeah. Kabuto Yakushi."

"Thank you for talking with me, Akiko. I'll let Naruto know you're doing well."

"No!" He looked confused and slightly surprised at her outburst. The girl cleared her throat, collecting herself. "I mean, he can't know that I'm here. He'll just put himself in danger trying to come after me. I know him. Better than anyone. Please, keep this between us."

"Well, alright." The man shrugged, picking up Sasuke. "I had a nice chat with you, but I gotta get Sasuke to the hospital before he dies. See ya." He waved at her, disappearing with a puff of smoke.

"Take care of him, please, Kakashi."