Nue's POV

I gazed down at the crystal as I walked on the dirt path. Where do I go from here? How do I tell Pein that we failed and Hidan and Kakuzu are gone? I lowered my head a little, unsure what to do. I felt someone grabbed my ankle, so quickly I took out a kunai knife and looked down to see who had hold of my ankle.

It was a man completely bruised up. "What the hell?" I muttered. "Please... Please help me..." The wounded man pleaded in a weak voice. I frowned at him before kneeling down to his side.  "Who did this to you?" I demanded as I held him in my arms.

He coughed a bit and wheezed like he was trying to say something. I leaned my ear near his mouth to make it easier for him. But instead, he pointed at something behind me. I turned my head and spotted what looked like a huge battle just went down.

Trees were knocked down and there were craters in the ground as if World War III just happened. "What happened here?" I asked, looking back at the wounded man. He continued to wheeze until his eyes rolled to the back of his head. 

I pressed two fingers near his neck, checking his pulse. "He's dead." I mumbled. I gently placed the dead man on the ground, then walked near the destruction. "Hmm..." I hummed to myself as I traced my fingers along the scars that were on a tree. 

"Yep, a lot went down in this area." A man in a farmer's hat said as he rode a cart with some hay in it while a horse was pulling the cart. I can only guess he's a farmer. "What can you tell me about what went on here?" I asked as I stood to my feet.

"Well, I can't tell you much, missy. But what I do know one thing for sure is that a beast destroyed this area." The farmer said. "A beast?" I repeated. "Yep. Never seen anything like it."

"What did it look like?"

"Hard to explain. I didn't get a good look at it. But I do remember those dark, piercing, bloody red eyes."

"Red eyes, huh?"

'Could be any monster' I thought, resting a hand on my chin. I looked back at the destruction and narrowed my eyes slightly. "I'm actually heading into town. You wanna catch a ride?" He asked. "Yes, that would be great." I answered.

"Hop in." He said, motioning his head to the haystack. I climbed aboard and lied down on the haystack. I heard the farmer snap the reins and the horse moved forward. I put a hand behind my head as my legs were crossed while I stared at the crystal in my hand.

 "If you don't mind me asking, Miss, how'd you get those things on your back?" The farmer asked. "I was born with them." I answered, emotionlessly. "Well, If you don't mind me saying this, but I think you look absolutely beautiful with them." He said.

I glanced at him, then back at the crystal in my hand. "You're not a horrible human, old man." I mumbled under my breath. I tucked the crystal in my cloak pocket and gazed at the sky. "Hey, old man, where are we going?" I asked. 

"Just to the Hidden Sound Village. Is that okay?" He answered. "Yeah..." I replied After a while, we made it to the Sound Village. Once we were there, I hopped off the cart. "Thanks for the ride." I said to the farmer. "Anytime, Miss." He smiled before riding off.

I waved to him, then looked towards the village. I narrowed my eyes before walking forward. "I'm telling you, man. That beast killed all those people in that house in a single night." I heard a villager say.

What kind of "beast" is this? And why would it kill? Just for sport? A snake caught my eye as I spotted it from afar. I frowned, noticing it was one of Orochimaru's snake. "Follow me, child." The snake hissed. I didn't waste any time as I ran forward, following the snake.

It must've known what I already wanted, and that was to kill Orochimaru. I followed the snake until I found a trapdoor-like hole. I narrowed my eyes before entering through the hole, entering Orochimaru's hideout.

"I've got you this time, you bastard." I said before running down the hallway. I came across a big door and kicked it down. When I took a step inside, my foot lightly tugged on a trip wire. I quickly looked up and a giant statue came crashing down on me.

I didn't have enough time to shield myself in time, so I got crushed under the statue. "Damn..." I grunted. I was in a lot of pain as blood ran down my face. "So, you're this 'Nue Houjuu Satori' Orochimaru keeps talking about,"

I looked at the end of the room, spotting someone standing there. "You must be dumber than you look to fall for a cheap trick like that, Nue Houjuu Satori." The figure said. I growled under my breath as my eyes changed from red to purple.

I hate it when someone calls me Satori because it wasn't my last name to begin with. "Don't... call me... THAT!!!!" I yelled, angrily. I ran forward, charging at the figure with my katana in hand. Judging by the way he was dressed, he was an experiment of Orochimaru's.

 The experiment prepared himself and turned his hand into a blade. I swung my blade down on his head, but he blocked it his blade-like hand. However, my blade was stronger. My blade broke through his defense as I cut off his hand.

It landed near my foot while my blade was inches away from his face. I panted lightly in anger as my opponent stared at me with little to no emotion. "You've gotten strong, Nue. I'm so proud." I heard a familiar hissing voice.

I took my blade and stabbed the experiment in the stomach. He coughed up blood as I narrowed my eyes at him. I took my blade out of his gut, blood spurting on me. "Any more experiments for me to kill, Orochimaru? Or are you too afraid to face me like a real ninja?" I said with a glare while aiming the tip of my blade at him.

"I'm flattered, Nue. But I'm afraid our battle will have to wait." Orochimaru said. Someone stepped out from behind him as their hair covered their eyes. I raised an unamused brow until the person lifted their head.

"Iri?" I lowered my katana to my side. "What are you doing here?" I demanded. She looked at me with a dead gaze and I noticed blood on her clothes while some ran down the corner of her mouth. "It appears she's taken too much of your blood." Orochimaru said as he appeared from behind me. 

"You knew what would happen if she drank it." I said, coldly while glancing back at him. I gasped as I was taken by surprise when Orochimaru snatched my katana out of my hand and threw it over to Iri. She caught it with one hand and aimed the blade at me.

"It's truly a shame she went on a rampage and killed all those people." Orochimaru mentioned. "Rampage? Are you saying she was the cause of all those attacks?" I asked. "Of course. Who did you think it was?" He said, smirking.

With my eyes still purple, I got ready as Iri charged at me. She tried to slice me down the middle with my katana, but I was able to dodge out of the way. Iri tried to slice me again, aiming to cut my ear. I lost my balance and landed on the floor, on my back.

I rolled out of the way just as she swung the katana down on me. Iri swung the blade again and I jumped to my feet, grabbing a staff off the wall. As I was about to hit her with it, she kicked me hard in the stomach, making me land on my back with a rough thud.

Iri didn't give me time to get up as she pounced at me, sitting on my stomach while holding my shoulder down her with free hand since the katana was in her other hand. She aimed the tip of my katana at me with a frown and went to stab me.

Luckily, I caught her wrist just in time, stopping her before she could stab me in the neck. But I was having a hard time as I struggled to keep the sword from reaching my neck any further. "You have the power to control her. Why let so many innocent people die?" I asked Orochimaru with a grunt.

"We wanted to see how a human would react once tasting the blood of your kind." Kabuto said. He must've appeared while I was fighting Iri.

"And in case you were wondering, Iri came to us. We didn't kidnap her. Originally, Iri was looking for you and she went here, thinking you were in trouble and got kidnapped. And then we thought, 'while we have her here, why not do a little experiment?'... And that was to make her drink your blood." Kabuto explained.  

I glared over at Orochimaru as I did my best to keep the katana away from me. "Oh, come now, Nue. Don't give me that face. You knew Iri would do something this reckless. But why bother caring? After all, you hate humans." Orochimaru said.

I grunted as I felt the tip of the blade lightly pierce my neck. At this rate, Iri will slice my neck. I slid my leg from under her and placed my foot on her chest. I did the same with my other leg, then kicked her off of me.

I did a backwards roll and stood to my feet, then ran at Iri with full speed while she tried to jab me with the katana blade. I jumped over her, dodging her attack until Iri turned around and began swinging the katana around, trying to cut me. 

I focused on her movements while dodging her attacks, jumping and moving out of the way. "It looks like joining Akatsuki has changed you, Nue. You're much more faster than you were back then. Care to know a little secret? I'm the one who killed Luna and her maids." Orochimaru informed. .

I held an emotionless gaze as I glanced over at him. I never thought it was him who killed Luna. It never came into mind of him being a suspect for her murder. 'Time to fight back' I thought to myself. I drove my knee into Iri's stomach, causing her to bend over slightly.

I punched her twice in the face, then spun around, kicking her in the head. When I kicked her, the blade swung out of her hand and into the air, spinning around, clockwise. I caught the handle and sliced Iri's chest, diagonally, blood spurting out of her chest. 

She took a couple steps back before falling to her knees, her head lowered slightly. "It appears you're too vulnerable in that form, Iri." Orochimaru mentioned. Iri lifted her head as her eyes glowed a blood red.  She began to growl as her whole began to change.

Her white hair grew longer and her height grew while wolf-like ears appeared on her head. When her transformation was complete, Iri had grown into a wolf-like humanoid. "Well, that's new." I mumbled. Iri grabbed another katana off a rack that was behind her and faced me.

I got in position as she slid the sheath off the blade. She charged at me and went to swing her sword down on me. I blocked her attack with my own katana and stumbled back a bit. I jumped in the air and tried to swing my blade down on her shoulder, but she did a rammed herself into me, causing me to skid back.

I raised my katana, blocking another attack from her. She pressed more weight on that attack this time, causing me to fall on my back, sliding across the floor. Iri swung her blade at my head, so I moved my head a little so she missed.

 I gasped as she grabbed my foot threw me into the air. My back roughly hit the ceiling and I fell forward. As I fell forward, Iri went to stab me, but I did a backflip so I was out of the way. I landed on my feet and made my katana crash with hers. 

We fought blade against blade for a while until I jumped up, trying to swing my katana on her head. But Iri intercepted the attack and roughly scratched my side with claw-like nails, ripping off a good chunk of my skin.

My body spun in the air until I landed on my stomach with a rough thud. Iri jumped up and swung her blade down on me, making me quickly roll out of the way. When I got on my hands of knees, she kicked me in the face, sending me flying across the room.

My face smashed into the wall and I heard her running at me. I swung my body upward, jumping towards the ceiling as I dodged an attack from her. I was lucky to get out of the way in time when her arm punched through the spot on the wall where my face was recently smashed in.

 I kicked off the ceiling and dashed at Iri while my blade was aimed at the top of her head. Unfortunately for me, Iri blocked my attack and grabbed my face, throwing me on the ground. As I was stood to my feet, she kicked and punched me in one combo, making me smash off the ceiling and into the floor.

I gasped as Iri leaped towards me and went to swing her katana down on my head. I quickly moved out of the way and used my katana to block her blows that were coming at me left and right. Due to her transformation, she was a lot stronger and faster than me.

I got distracted and got punched in the face. She kicked me in the stomach, then punched me in the face before slashing her katana down on my chest. My cloak split open as blood spurt out. I gasped in surprise, but kept it together.

Iri swung her blade upward, slicing my leg. I winced slightly and stood my ground as I looked at her. "Listen to me! You're being controlled by my blood! Go back to normal!" I shouted to her, trying to reason with her.

But Iri ignored me and sliced down on my cheek, leaving a deep cut. I frowned at her and she let out an angry roar. She swung her blade at me twice and I dodged them both. On the third swing, I jumped back.

Big mistake on my part because I accidentally closed my eyes. When I did that, she kicked me to the ceiling before grabbing my leg and swinging me onto the floor. I lightly coughed up blood and she stomped her foot on my stomach, making me cough up more blood.

I twitched a bit under her weight as Iri aimed her katana at me. I reached out to her, then laid it back down on my side, frowning at her. "Just go back." I pleaded. "Nue..." Iri said in a whisper as I saw her hand shaking.

"Iri." Orochimaru commanded. Iri let out an angry cry and went to finish me off. I made eyes glow brighter than they were before as I gripped the handle of my katana. Not only that, but my katana began to glow.

Right when Iri was about to swing her katana down on me, I quickly got out from under her and cut off her arm. She stood frozen there for a second and went to slice me again until I cut off her other arm, vanishing behind her.

I heard blood spurt from both sides of her arms. I glanced back as I saw her trying to run at me, but her legs shook and she fell to the floor. 'Is it over?' I thought before turning around as katana's glow faded. Orochimaru smirked and walked away with Kabuto.

"Do you know... know who killed Mother?" Iri asked, weakly, as she was back to her human form. I gave her a slow nod, staring at her, emotionlessly. I walked over to her and kneeled down by her side, placing my katana down on the floor.

"You should know... being with you, Nue... made me happy." Iri whispered weakly, looking at me. I stared at her as she went on. "You were my only family after Mother died. I think that's why... hurting you hurt me." Iri said.

I looked at her, sadly before picking her up and holding her in my arms. "Nue... You were my sister. Thank you for that." She said with a weak smile. I sadly smiled back at her as I felt tears form at the brim of my eyes. "I'm sorry, Onee-chan." I whispered.

Her closed her eyes and her head fell back. Realizing she was dead, I held her close to me as I began to cry silently. I lifted my head and glared at the spot where Orochimaru recently stood while tears ran down my cheeks.

No, you've gone too far, bastard. I picked up Iri's body and ran after Orochimaru. They didn't get that far as I spotted them in the hallway. "Orochimaru!" I yelled, angrily. He turned around to face me as a calm smile was plastered on his face.

"Aww... Did Iri die in your arms? What a shame." He said, mockingly. I growled in anger. "You made me to this!" I snapped. "I bet you wanna kill me now, don't you? But it isn't quite time for that yet." Orochimaru said.

Kabuto got in front of him and took out a kunai knife. I knew I couldn't fight him. I used up too much of my strength when I was fighting Iri. "Do you still even have the energy to kill me, Nue?' Orochimaru asked with a smirk.

I frowned at him and looked down at Iri's face. "This isn't over." I said, coldly before running out of the hideout with Iri in my arms. There's no way I was gonna leave her in that place. I continued to run until I saw spotted the Leaf Village from afar.

I slowed down and walked towards the entrance. "Who goes there!" Kotetsu called. I didn't replu as I kept walking, my bangs covering my eyes. I heard Izumo gasp. "Is that... Iri Satori?" He asked. I walked past them and headed to the Hokage House.

Shizune came out of the office and spotted me with Iri. "Lady Tsunade! It's Iri!" Shizune called. Tsunade came running out of the office and spotted me in the hallway with Iri's corpse. "What happened? What did you do?" Tsunade demanded.

I didn't answer and gently placed my sister's body on the floor. "Prepare a funeral for her." I said, quietly. I vanished to the cemetery and looked fro Luna's grave. Once I found it, I create a flame in my hand until it turned into a rose.

I placed it in front of the gravestone. "I'm so sorry, Luna. I'm so sorry." I whispered as tears ran down my cheeks. I pressed my hands to my face as I began to cry until I felt a hand rest on my shoulder from behind.

I turned my head and my eyes widened as I saw Asuma as a ghost. "Asuma..." I whispered. Seeing him made me want to cry harder. "Asuma, I... I'm so sorry," I closed my eyes tightly and lowered my head as I started crying again.

"I killed Iri... and now... I'm all alone. I didn't mean to kill her. I... I didn't have a choice. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." I said. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Nue. It's not your fault." Asuma said, gently. "You're wrong!" I shook my head.

"It is my fault! I killed my sister and I can never get her back! I... I don't know what to do now!" I said, grabbing my head. I felt him place his hand on my head, making me look at him as he smiled at me, gently.

I frowned at me and slapped his hand. "Don't smile at me! Why aren't you angry at me?! I took your life and tried to kill your students! Why don't you hate me, Asuma?!" I yelled. "Why...? Why do you still smile at me... after everything I've done?"

More tears ran down my face as my frown quickly disappeared. "Because I forgive you, Nue. I know you never meant to hurt the people you love." Asuma said. "But..." I lowered my head so I was looking at the ground. "Nue..."

Asuma took his hand and lifted my chin so I was looking at him and gently kissed my forehead. My eyes widened in shock as I watched him disappear. "How...? How can you forgive me... just like that?" I whispered. A gentle breeze blew past me while taking a few leaves with it.

I watched the leaves float towards the Hokage Mountain. "Lord Hokage..." I murmured. I flew into the air, flying back to the Akatsuki. I began to rain as I soared through the sky. When I saw the base come into view, I flew down to the ground and walked the rest of the way. 

"Why... Why... Why... Why...?" I repeated that word over and over as I walked towards the entrance, swaying a bit. My hair covered my eyes as it began to rain harder. "Nue-chan, you're back!" I heard Tobi cheer.

I lifted my head and saw him near the entrance, waving at me. Was he waiting for me to return with Hidan and Kakuzu? Why was he standing near the entrance? Probably enjoying the rain, I guess. "What's wrong, Nue-chan?" Tobi asked.

I didn't answer as I walked past him. Water droplets dripped from my wet clothes as I made my way to my room. "Nue, are you okay?" Kisame asked as I walked past him. I didn't answer. Once I made it to my room, I closed the door shut and placed Hidan's headband and Kakuzu's gift on my desk.

I stared down at the headband. I missed his yelling and complaining, and I missed how Kakuzu and I would repeatedly tell him to shut up when he got too loud. "Hidan... Kakuzu..." I whispered before my body began to tremble with sadness.

I lied down on my bed as tears escaped my eyes. Not only did I lose my comrades, but I also lost my sister, my best friend, my... my family. Now, I'll never get her back.

It's all my fault...