A/N: Initially, I planned on delving into the events with Miki, Yukio, and Kazue as well, but this ended up being a bit longer than I thought, and I realized that after this tidbit, it might be harder to focus on the other than I thought. So here's a chapter full of Jun, instead! Hope you enjoy!

A bit earlier

The deeper Jun went into the twisting halls surrounding the arena, the darker, and more silent it became. As it was, he was barely surprised when he turned yet another corner and suddenly Kabuto was no where in sight. No, the stranger thing was the silence.

Jun would have thought that in the middle of an attack on the village by two different enemies, it’d be impossible for it to be so quiet. Strangely, however, it seemed that all the fighting was taking place outside of the halls. Perhaps that was because of the fact that he was rather certain that no one came to this area, seeing as it was within the basement of the building. An uneasy feeling sweeping through him, Jun took a few more cautious steps, his eyes sweeping over shadowed tile flooring.

Almost instantly, the answer came to him. It wasn’t that no one had made it this deeply into the arena, yet, they’d simply already finished fighting. Whether or not the outcome had been decided for the better, he was uncertain. The blood splattering the floor beneath his feet, however, was light enough that if he had to guess, Jun would estimate that whomever had been attacked hadn’t been killed.

That uneasy feeling only grew as he paused, carefully taking stock of his surroundings. Just because he couldn’t see Kabuto didn’t mean that he wasn’t still there. If Jun was right and something was off about the older boy, it was all the more reason to be careful. There were six, almost seven years of age between the two of them. That was years of experience that Jun could only guess at. He knew nothing about Kabuto, he’d realized. Nothing beyond that the boy was supposedly a genin. At the same time, something about him had felt off to Jun the entire time, it was the whole reason he’d requested Kabuto to join them in the Forest of Death. It was better to keep an eye on something strange than to let it catch one unaware. He’d lived his life by that rule ever since his parents’ deaths.

He couldn’t help but grit his teeth as these thoughts crossed his mind, the circumstances settling him more on edge that he’d been for some time. It didn’t help that his only solid skill was genjutsu. His seal kept his ninjutsu from being that useful- it was all he could do to properly mold the chakra he used on a daily basis for jumping atop a building or sticking to a wall. Taijutsu, well, his stature was a lot smaller than his potential opponent. If Kabuto had been lying, it might mean the nineteen year-old was stronger than any of them thought.

Jun’s lips twisted up slightly as he took another step forward.

Perhaps he was selling himself short, he had his brains, too, which were pretty useful. Without them, he wouldn’t have come to such conclusions. He also wouldn’t have noticed extremely soft sound of movement that met his ears. He reflexively jolted to the side, causing the scalpel to barely skim his bare arm instead of, he estimated, pinning the fabric of his forehead protector to the wall.

“A scalpel? Really?” Jun questioned, painting his tone into a flippant one, hiding the sudden wariness he felt. “Could you be any stranger?”

The action had almost invisible. Only his instincts had told him which way to dodge. That wasn’t the aim, the ability of a genin who had failed the test as many times as Kabuto supposedly had.

“Scalpels have their uses.”

Jun’s eyes snapped to the location of the voice, finding Kabuto situated on the opposite side of the hall, his chakra infused feet securing him to where the wall met the ceiling. Upon realizing exactly how close Kabuto was, Jun quickly drew up the potential ways to put distance between them. As if he could read Jun’s thoughts, the older boy laughed, releasing his feet and dropping to the bloodstained tile. Almost instantly, his hands were dropped loosely to his side, as if he couldn’t care less about the situation they’d found themselves in.

“You’re not a leaf genin.”

Kabuto’s lips twisted into an amused smirk as he shrugged, one of his hands revealed to be clutched around the hilt of a kunai as he lifted his palms towards the ceiling. The accusation, like everything else, seemed to just roll off of him.

“I take offense at that,” he replied, his words the exact opposite of the carefree tone to his voice. “I grew up in Konoha.”

“But you’re not loyal to Konoha,” Jun retorted.

Kabuto rose a brow, that smirk still in place as he turned his hand, his finger slipping through the circle on the end. He then carelessly twirled it around his finger before bracing the sharp edge of the kunai against one of his fingers a second later- tapping the tip of his kunai against the sound symbol on his forehead protector. Jun narrowed his eyes, his own fingers dropping down to brush the top of his weapons’ pouch.

The movement only made him aware of the faint ache of his shoulder as the stitched wound protested his tense movement. He’d almost forgotten about that. The medical-nin hadn’t appreciated his quitting “without reason” and had declared that they wanted to save their chakra for the potential injuries that the more promising fights might produce. As a result, he’d been stitched, bandaged, and sent on his way. Something he was sorely regretting now.

“I guess the music note is a give away,” Kabuto mused. “It worked, though.”

Jun narrowed his eyes. The self-satisfied tone to Kabuto’s words caught his attention, almost sending a shiver down his spine. Suddenly, he realized that following the sound-nin alone might have been one a horrible idea.

“What worked?”

“Catching your attention,” came the instantaneous response.

The words were accompanied by a movement so quick, Jun knew his suspicions had been right. Within seconds Kabuto had crossed the distance between them, his kunai flashing through the air. It was all he could do just to bring his weapon up to match the attack, his jaw clenching so tight that it ached as a flash of pain darted down his shoulder.

If he wasn’t careful, he’d bust the stitches. It was as if one more problem was piling up atop of another.

Jun’s arm shook with the effort it took to hold back the larger boy’s weapon. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to hold the stance for long, he brought his other hand around in a swift strike towards the opposing boy’s torso. Kabuto instantly stepped back, just out of Jun’s reach as he brought his knee up, sending Jun stumbling backwards in an attempt to avoid the blow. His thoughts spun, his mind pulling up the miniscule distance left between his back and where the wall stood behind him. Not willing to be trapped, he dug his feet into the ground, shoving his kunai forward in an attempt to gain ground.

The attempt did nothing but widen Kabuto’s smirk.

The expression suddenly seemed to take a sadistic edge as the older boy suddenly twisted his arm, digging his elbow into Jun’s injured shoulder. A hiss of pain escaped his lips, his hand reflexively loosening around his kunai as a sticky appeared on his shoulder. Pushing past the feeling, he tightened his grip to the point where it hurt, his eyes narrowing.

“You’ve caught it, I suppose. I have to wonder, though. See, I’m not the popular sort when it comes to this sort of thing. Why me?” Jun questioned. “Weren’t you focused on Kazue-chan?”

“I was,” Kabuto agreed.

His elbow dug deeper in, sending Jun crashing into the wall. His mind searched for a way to switch their positions, at the same time there was the knowledge that if he dropped his hands to form a sign, he most likely wouldn’t be able to catch Kabuto’s next attack. The only reason that the kunai hadn’t already dug into his skin was that he’d kept it trapped in place up till this point. He doubted he could afford to lose anymore blood than he had done in his earlier fight against Noriaki.

Another thought occurred to him in that moment- a dangerous one.

If he distracted Kabuto using conversation, would he be able to use his natural connection to genjutsu to summon up a simple jutsu without hand-signs? He’d have to be careful, touching the ability was dangerous. At the same time, facing someone whose skill was obviously higher than his own, with his own body exhausted and injured… there might not be any other choice. Kurai Jiko might very well be the best chance of surviving that he had.

“Does Kazue-chan know about you?”

Suddenly, Kabuto dropped his arm, his elbow releasing Jun’s shoulder. The sudden lack of opposition sent Jun’s weapon plunging through the thin fabric covering Kabuto’s chest and through the skin, blood bubbling up in it’s wake. Kabuto’s expression tightened just the slightest bit, his only visible reaction to the pain as he suddenly gripped Jun’s wrist with his free hand that-until that moment- had been out of sight. The faint glow of medical-chakra enclosed his skin, a loud curse escaping Jun’s lips the moment it came close.

His kunai clattered to the ground- his fingers suddenly losing the ability to grip the hilt.

“Of course she doesn’t,” Kabuto answered calmly, his arm moving back to harshly shove Jun against the wall as the boy’s face contorted with pain.

The abrupt movement sent a loud crack through the hall as Jun’s head slammed against the wall, a wave of black spots dancing across his vision. Within a second Kabuto’s kunai was placed against the smaller boy’s throat, his arm braced across Jun’s chest. His elbow, conveniently, ended up perfectly positioned just above the leaking stitches maring Jun’s shoulder.

“Oh, and don’t worry, I left the veins in your wrist alone and simply cut off all movement. An easy fix at a later point. The pain makes it a lot worse than it actually is.”

“A later point?” Jun managed to question through his gritted teeth as he attempted to focus his spinning head. “You’re gonna let me go and give me the chance to tell her about you?”

The only benefit to his spinning head was that it made it all too easy to drop the mental barriers he’d constructed in his mind to hold back Kurai Jiko. The pain almost seemed to disappear as a euphoric feeling suddenly flooded through him. The air immediately shifted around them, something that didn’t pass by the older boy. A breeze picked up despite the fact that there was no opening into the open air of Konoha anywhere near them.

Kabuto’s lips twisted up in amusement. The medical-chakra around his hand disappeared as it dipped into the small pouch tucked beneath the ANBU cloak he wore. His finger slipped through the circle on his kunai once again, the weapon dropping away as he shoved his arm up higher, cutting off a majority of Jun’s air supply. His still functioning hand flashed to the older boy’s arm, tugging on it as if it would help at all. A chuckle escaped Kabuto’s lips at the sight of the typically cheeky boy struggling to do anything.

“Oh, most likely it won’t matter after today what she knows,” he finally replied. “Even if it does, however, I have a feeling you won’t tell.”

He dug his elbow into Jun’s wound, crimson soaking past the pristine bandage as the stitches holding the delicate skin together began to rip. The boy flinched, black spotting his vision as he struggled to draw in a decent breath. Without that wound, things might have been different. He might have been able to hold his ground better. He might have been able to focus the genjutsu.

As it was, Kurai Jiko did nothing. The wind harmlessly swept through the hall, but not a line of blood appeared on Kabuto’s skin. It was almost as if his other self knew what was about to happen- as if it was eager to see the end results. For once, Jun was left on his own to focus the power.

He was helpless.

He hated it. For the first time in his life, he longed for the power to step in- to do something.

“I might as well take this chance to explain. I doubt we’ll be interrupted,” Kabuto mused. “You see, when your name appeared in the preliminaries, Orochimaru-sama recognized it. You’d just been sealed when he left the village. Your father was a rather good acquaintance of his, seeing as neither one felt much loyalty to the village itself.”

A scowl instantly reached Jun’s lips despite everything at the mentioning of his father. That was the one person that no matter the circumstances, Jun couldn’t stand for being mentioned in any conversation. His knee suddenly jerked up to hit Kabuto’s gut, his want to break free suddenly surging. Kabuto easily shoved his elbow into Jun’s shoulder, his own foot sweeping Jun’s legs out from underneath him and instead of kicking Kabuto, Jun suddenly found himself only being held up by the arm tucked beneath his chin.

Not a hint of air was making it past anymore.

“Orochimaru-sama had a thought, then. Why take advantage of one monster, when there are two available? I had an entire month to work on the idea and of course I managed to complete something this simple.”

Without warning, Kabuto’s hand flashed out of his cloak, a sharp pain flashing through Jun’s uninjured shoulder. It took his oxygen deprived brain a full minute to realize that the cause was a large, metal tipped needle plunged through his skin. Kabuto pressed the end down with his thumb, his smirk turning into what could almost be considered a slightly demented smile as the liquid sent a searing pain surging through him.

Seeing no need to hold Jun still any longer, Kabuto released him as he pulled the needle away, allowing the small boy to crumble to the ground at his feet. As Jun struggled with the pain, hard, gasping breaths escaped his lips in an attempt to refill his oxygen deprived lungs. His hand reflexively clasped over his shoulder, his eyes squeezing shut as he attempted to pull it everything under control. To do something besides just sit there, shaking.

The wind in the wall picked up to the point that Kabuto’s pony-tail was being whipped around his head.

What had been in that needle?

“You see, I know that you won’t tell Kazue-chan about me for this very reason. You’d have to tell her how you found out. Which would mean telling her how you managed to escape practically unscathed.

“You’d have to tell them about how I broke your seal.”

The words barely registered in Jun’s mind, his thoughts too focused on a single matter. The fact that as the pain faded, a euphoric feeling swept over him. The feeling was incomparable to the any of the earlier ones. If anything, it made coherent thought practically impossible.

Despite everything, a breathy, bubble of laughter escaped his lips.

Kabuto backed away from the boy, glancing over his shoulder to where several dozen sound shinobi had begun to appear on the other end of the hall. With one hand he gestured towards where Jun sat, the other leisurely dropping to his side, the needle held lightly in it’s grasp.

“See what you can do about stirring that up.”

His lips twisted up in his signature smirk, Kabuto started towards the opposite end of the hall.

Jun’s mind was a mess.

The laughs escaping his lips, the chakra signatures coming closer, none of it seemed to matter.

No, the only thing that mattered was the overwhelming, alien feeling consuming him. Kurai Jiko, his dark self, was suddenly there and was eating at him. What was him, what was it, he had the distinct feeling that somehow the lines had blurred. He squeezed his eyes shut, the laughter cutting off as he shook his head, clutching his non-injured hand to the side of his temple- the functional part of his head telling him he needed to force it back. Force the euphoria away.

Pain was better than this.

His vision blurred.

As if on their own, his shaky legs pushed up up on the wall.

Standing, why was he standing?

Pushing it back was important, but how did he do that? It’d never felt like this before. Nowhere in his recallable memory, it’d been too long since he’d been without the seal. The power flooding through his veins… it was indescribable.

Someone lunged towards him, following the orders they’d been given. Without a conscious thought to the matter, chakra surged out of Jun into the air, shifting it around him. A guttural cry escaped the shinobi’s lips, the man dropping to the ground almost instantly as what would have seemed like nothing to any onlooker tore a large gash through his chest.

That breathy laugh escaped Jun’s lips again.

This feeling, this euphoric feeling…

As movement picked up around him, he shakily braced his back against the wall. His eyes never opened, his hand never dropping from his head.

It wasn’t until after all of the chakra signatures around him disappeared that he finally managed to pull himself under control. Even then, the feeling never faded. Not until a familiar figure appeared in the hall. Even then, it wasn’t until the boy was standing in front of him that he managed to pull his jumbled thoughts into order.

It was hard- something that sent a shiver down his spine and fear through his mind.

“Jun… what happened?”

He offered a sheepish smile, raising a blood stained finger to scratch his cheek. He hadn’t even noticed until that moment, but he was covered in the crimson liquid, just as he had been so many years ago on the day that everything around him had changed. He shoved the memory back and focused on two genin in front of him.

“I guess I got a little too serious.”