Edited 05/06/2015

Kakashi's POV

"Alright, if the two of you are ready" Hayate announces, stepping back from the two contestants, "Then begin!"

I watch on with interest as Rakeru does a number of back hand springs to put some distance between herself and Ashley, the blonde not moving from her spot.

I haven't really seen Ashley fight yet, so this should be interesting. I've seen that she certainly has the potential to be great, as do my other three students, but as for Jutsu and this possible Kekkei Genkai that the Hokage said she may have.......I'm eager to see just what Ashley can do for myself.

My brows furrow a little as I stare down at the bored looking Ashley, Rakeru's face taking on a frustrated expression, unhappy that the blonde seems so disinterested.

I hate this feeling that keeps coming back to me every now and then....This feeling like I know Ashley from somewhere. I have a pretty good memory, and I doubt I could easily forget an attitude like hers.

Why does she seem so familiar to me?....

"Yeah!" Naruto suddenly shouts, throwing his torso over the railing and almost toppling right over it in his excitement. "C'mon Ashley! You can do it!"

The girl doesn't respond, blinking as Rakeru scowls and slaps her palms together, apparently tired of waiting for Ashley to make a move.

"Earth Style" the pinkette smirks, performing hand signs, "Earth Dragon!"

Rakeru squats down and forcefully presses her palms against the ground, allowing her chakra to flow into it. Ashley tilts her head back to look up as a huge Dragon-like creature rises up out of the earth, its eyes glowing bright yellow. Her face remains blank, seemingly undaunted by Rakeru's Jutsu.

I have to admit, that's quite an impressive Jutsu for a mere Genin to be able to perform. It requires a lot of chakra and control to be able to pull it off, and I can't imagine Rakeru has a large chakra reserve yet. She either wants to end this fight quickly, or show off her moves.

"Go Angel!" Kiba cheers enthusiastically, throwing his fist in the air and grinning. This earns the brunette a nasty glare from Ashley, her neck wrenching around and her eyes narrowed.

I raise an eyebrow at this movement, finding it interesting that while she was easily able to ignore Naruto's cheering, Ashley can't seem to help reacting to Kiba's.

"Better pay attention blondie!" Rakeru calls, bringing Ashley's attention back to her. "I'm awesome with Earth Style Jutsu and you're about to die!"

"Earth Style huh?...." I hear Ashley murmur, raising her eyes to the Earth Dragon as it lets out a thunderous roar that makes a few of the onlookers wince. "I'll keep it in mind..."

"You're the best Rakeru-chan!" one of the pinkette's teammates cries, bouncing up and down. "Finish her, nice and quick!"

"That thing is huge" Sakura whispers fearfully, before pressing her palms into the railing and urgently leaning over it. "Run Ashley!"

The Earth Dragon lunges towards Ashley as soon as the words escape Sakura's mouth, leaving her wide eyed with worry. It slams heavily into the ground, shaking the arena and sending up a thick cloud of dust.

"A-Ashley...." Naruto stutters, blinking rapidly. "It can't.....It can't be over already can it?"

"I doubt it Naruto" I respond, all three of my Genin turning to look at me hopefully. "I may not know how well Ashley can fight, but I know that move wouldn't have taken her out."

Naruto watches me for a few more moments, before nodding and turning to look back down into the arena. Sakura wrings her hands, with Sasuke squinting his eyes, trying to see through the dust.

"That was too easy!" Rakeru boasts, throwing her hands on her hips and laughing obnoxiously.

"No" a voice corrects, causing Rakeru to pause, "That would have been too easy."

We all look up, only to see Ashley standing on a rock floating in the middle of the air, her arms raised above her head. I hear Naruto exhale with relief, while my eyes widen a little.

'Is this her Kekkei Genkai?' I immediately wonder, watching as Ashley lowers her arms, the rock bringing her back down to the ground. 'Is this what Lord Hokage was talking about?'

"The Minami Clan possessed a rather......" the Hokage pauses for a moment, apparently struggling to find the right word to use, ".....Peculiar Kekkei Genkai."

"A Kekkei Genkai?" I repeat, eyes widening. Could Ashley possess such an ability?

"Yes" Lord Third confirms with a nod. "I don't know much about it, but I will tell you what I do know......Anything further will have to be explained by Ashley herself I'm afraid......."

I nod in understanding, leaning forwards in my seat a little as the Hokage glances down at a sheet of paper on his desk and takes a puff of his pipe.

"Well Kakashi" the man states, "According to this old report, the Minami Kekkei Genkai is called the Katsuryoku."

"Katsuryoku....." I repeat slowly, before frowning and shaking my head. "I can't say that I've heard of it before my Lord."

"Yes well" the older man chuckles, looking faintly amused, "I assumed that if you hadn't heard of the Minami Clan, you wouldn't have heard of their Kekkei Genkai either."

"Well......" I mutter, sweat dropping. "It could have been possible that their reputation proceeded them I guess...."

"That aside" Lord Third continues, turning serious again, "I don't know every detail of how the Katsuryoku works.......It says here that the Minami Clan's Kekkei Genkai does not require the use of chakra, but rather uses Natural Energy."

"How can it be a Kekkei Genkai if it doesn't require the use of chakra?" I question, brows furrowing in thought.

"It is a genetic ability that has been passed down through the Minami bloodline" Lord Third informs me wisely, "So therefore, it is technically a Kekkei Genkai. No other bloodline possesses their ability."

"I understand" I reply, rubbing my chin in thought. "How does it work without chakra though? That's quite strange."

"I'm unsure of how it works" Lord Third admits. "All I know is that the Minami Clan use Natural Energy instead of chakra for their Kekkei Genkai. This reports says that majority of them don't even know how to use chakra. They just rely on their Kekkei Genkai to fight."

"So what exactly is their Kekkei Genkai?" I ask, realising the Hokage hasn't told me yet. "What can the Minami do?"

"The Katsuryoku enables a Minami Clan member to control elements such as fire, water, wind and so on" Lord Third tells me, folding his hands together on his desk. "Apparently all Minami are born with the ability to use any chakra nature, but as I already stated, they had chosen not to adapt to the way of the modern Ninja and resort to Jutsu of any kind."

"So, when you say that they can control elements" I repeat slowly, "Do you mean they control them with some sort of telekinesis?"

"I'm not sure how it all works Kakashi" Lord Third sighs, frowning slightly, "I've never seen the Katsuryoku in action for myself. I doubt it is telekinesis, but perhaps you could get Ashley to explain one day?"

"I doubt she'll want to tell me anything helpful" I murmur wryly, crossing my arms and leaning back in my seat.

I narrow my eyes a little as the crouching Ashley waves one hand in a downward motion, the rock she'd been standing on disappearing back into the ground, as if it had never been there.

This has to be her Kekkei Genkai. Unless she did it while she was veiled in the dust cloud, I didn't see Ashley execute even one hand sign. I don't think she's using a Jutsu right now.....

"Woah!" Naruto cries, once again leaning so far over the railing, I'm almost worried he's going to fall. "That was so cool! How did Ashley do that?!"

"Was that some sort of Jutsu?" Sakura wonders out loud, tilting her head to the side. She smiles faintly, pointing down at Rakeru. "That girl looks just as confused as I feel. She probably thought her Jutsu hit Ashley".

"Alright Angel!" Kiba shouts excitedly, to which Ashley glares over at him again, teeth bared in an irritated scowl.

"Would you stop calling me that?!" she snaps back, making Sakura and Naruto laugh. I see Sasuke smirk to himself, and I have to admit, even I'm smiling a little behind my mask. I only find it funny that Kiba is calling Ashley an Angel though, because as far as I'm concerned, she's been nothing of the sort since I met her.

"It's not funny you guys...." Ashley complains, sighing as she turns her head to look over at us.

"How.....How are you not dead?" Rakeru asks, perplexed and disappointed. Ashley's face takes on a steely expression, casting her eyes back on the pinkette.

"Easy" the Minami responds coolly. "You're Dragon was way too slow."

"What?!" Rakeru barks incredulously, blue eyes widening. "But that's one of the fastest Jutsu I have!"

"How sad for you then" Ashley scoffs. "If you can't move any faster, then I'm afraid you're not going to win."

"Don't you talk down to me" Rakeru warns, performing a hand sign. "Earth Style Clone!"

A look of dark amusement on her face, Ashley slowly rises to her feet, eyes watching as three perfect clones of Rakeru form out of the earth around her.

"Teach that girl a lesson!" Rakeru commands, smirking and throwing her arm forwards. The three clones all grin meanly, darting towards Ashley.

The blonde doesn't panic however, calmly placing her hands together and performing a set of swift hand seals.

"Fire Style" the girl murmurs, "Fire Wolf Explosion!"

Ashley quickly exhales three small flames, that immediately take on the appearance of Wolves. I can't help the way my mouth pulls down at the sight of the flaming beasts, lowering their heads and growling dangerously. This Jutsu seems......Oddly familiar to me....

Waving one hand towards Rakeru's incoming clones, Ashley watches as her small, fiery Wolves run to meet the clones head on. She smirks a little as they leap for their targets, each connecting at the exact same time.

Sakura cries out and throws up a hand in front of her face as all three flaming Wolves explode, hitting us with a blast of hot air. Naruto closes his eyes and turns away, with Sasuke doing the same.

My eyes widen however, as I stare down at Ashley in shock. I recognise that Jutsu. I've definitely seen it once before! It's been quite a few years since I've seen it but......How could I not have realised this sooner. How could I not recognise her?.......I mean sure, she's older now but....I don't understand how I didn't connect the dots before now. Maybe I was subconsciously trying to block the memory out?.....

"So Captain" a voice calls from behind me, as I bound through the trees speedily, "He's been spotted in the Land of Sound again?"

"That's what I was told" I reply, glancing over at my fellow ANBU, a red and white Bear mask concealing his face. "But apparently he's been lurking around the Hidden Grass Village and kidnapping innocent Villagers as well."

"Probably using them for his sick experiments again" the man mutters under his breath, his brown hair being tousled by the wind.

"We should probably pick up the pace then" a sharp voice interjects. "If we don't hurry, he might disappear again!"

"I know Riokei, I know" I say calmly, addressing my red haired teammate by her codename, "But we've been travelling at a fast pace for the last three days, and I'm not facing our target with a tired team. He's an S-Rank criminal, so fighting him when we're not at one hundred percent will only lead to our deaths."

"I agree with the Captain" Shi speaks up, his long hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail. "I'm not fighting him if we're all dead tired!"

"Oh big surprise Shi" Riokei sighs, no doubt rolling her eyes behind her Cat mask, "You agreeing with the Captain....."

I silently thank Shi and Himeji when they remain silent, not overly wanting to deal with any stupid arguments. We have a mission to complete and even though Riokei might not like it, my word is final. She's just going to have to get used to answering to me as her superior.

While Himeji and Riokei don't usually work alongside me, Shi and I have been on the same team for quite awhile. The other two are relatively new to the ANBU Black Ops, and Lord Hokage had personally requested that we train them for awhile, before they get assigned to their own teams and I get my two usual teammates back.

We've been working together as a team for two months now and while I like both Himeji and Riokei, the woman can certainly get on my nerves with her attitude sometimes....

"Hold up guys!" Himeji suddenly calls, pausing on a tree branch. We all come to a stop, with Shi crouching on a branch a few metres below me.

"What is it Himeji?" I call to the brunette. "Did you see something with your Byakugan?"

"Well Captain" the Hyuga begins slowly, "I can see something up ahead.......I'm not entirely sure what it is though. It possesses quite a lot of chakra, I know that much."

"Lots of chakra?" I repeat, turning to face my red headed teammate. "Riokei-"

"Yeah, yeah" she interrupts, dropping down to the ground and placing one hand on the dirt, the other held in a hand sign. "I'm already on it...."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, we all wait as Riokei falls silent, sending her chakra out through the ground to try and sense what may be up ahead.

"I don't understand why my Byakugan can't see what that source of chakra is" Himeji adds, crossing his arms over his chest. "It looks to be human, but the chakra is-"

"Yeah, there's definitely something up ahead" Riokei states, sounding frustrated as she rises to her feet. "Couldn't tell you what it is other than that it's a human though. Probably just another Grass Ninja or something."

"Ha, no problem then!" Shi laughs, waving one hand dismissively. "We've seen a few Grass Village Ninja and citizens around these parts lately anyway."

"Hold it Shi" I order, holding up a hand to stop him from going anywhere. "While it's true that we could just be dealing another Grass Ninja or even a citizen, we don't know that for sure. I don't want to risk any of your lives by just marching past this unknown person. We're going to use a more subtle method."

Performing a quick hand sign, I press my palm into the branch I'm standing on.

"Summoning Jutsu!" I call, before becoming enshrouded in a cloud of white smoke. Glancing down, I see a small, brown Pug sitting at my feet, his eyes hooded.

"Pakkun" I greet.

"Kakashi" the animal responds pleasantly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need you to investigate the source of an unknown chakra up ahead" I explain, pointing despite knowing Pakkun will be able to find the chakra without my help. "We're looking for Orochimaru right now, and I want to make sure we're not running into any of his subordinates or anything. Himeji and Riokei can confirm that whoever is up ahead is human, but they have a strange chakra that cannot be identified."

"Orochimaru huh?" Pakkun responds, sighing as he climbs to his feet. "Alright, I'll be back in a flash!"

I nod my thanks as Pakkun jumps down to the ground and dashes off, only to notice that Riokei is staring up at me, green eyes barely visible through the holes in her mask.

"You're sending in a Ninja Hound to scout this out?" she questions dubiously. "I really don't think it's as big of a problem as you're making it out to be."

"Yes" I confirm seriously. "Pakkun is smaller, quieter and a lot harder to detect than the four of us. I'd rather ere on the side of caution when it comes to Orochimaru, so stop questioning me and just relax for a few minutes."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Shi announces happily, leaning back on his tree branch, arms behind his head.

"Byakugan!" I hear Himeji say, reactivating his Kekkei Genkai. "Don't worry Captain, I'll keep an eye on your Ninken."

"Much appreciated" I reply, placing my hands in my pockets and leaning my back against the tree trunk, silently waiting for Pakkun to return. Riokei sighs impatiently, dumping herself down into a sitting position, legs crossed.

After a few minutes of quiet, Pakkun bounds up through the trees and sits in front of me, stirring Shi out of his half asleep state.

"Ah Pakkun" I address the Pug, "How did you go?"

"Well Kakashi" he replies, a look of amusement on his face, "It would seem that your strange chakra source is coming from a little girl."

"See?" Riokei asks pointedly. "It's just a kid. We could've pushed ahead and already been on our way to-"

"Hold it Red Head" Pakkun interrupts, surprising Riokei by dropping down from the trees and landing in her lap. "While she seems innocent enough, talking to birds and what not, her chakra is different to all of yours. I'd be cautious if I were you lot."

"Alright, thanks for your help Pakkun" I tell the small canine, nodding my head.

"Until next time Kakashi" Pakkun says, saluting me before he disappears in another puff of smoke.

"Alright team, we're going to move out again" I announce, "We'll maintain the same formation we had when we left the Leaf Village. Riokei in front, me second, Shi behind me and Himeji last. Can you keep up your Byakugan?"

"Yes sir!" my team replies in unison, before we take off through the trees once again, Riokei opting to remain on the ground for now. Only having to run for a couple of minutes, we reach the edge of the forest, the trees beginning to thin out.

A grassy meadow spreads out for miles before us, a huge lake to our left. Boulders line the river and as I narrow my eyes, I spot a small girl with blonde hair. She dangles her legs over the river, long, messy hair pooling around her small frame.

Glancing back over her shoulder to see if we've all stopped as well, Riokei quietly leaps up through the trees and lands on the same branch as me.

"That must be the kid" she comments, pointing with her thumb.

"Yeah" I agree. "Alright, I think we should try to surround her. One of you behind and one on the left and right. I'll approach the girl from the front and try to talk to her, then if anything happens, we can hit her with a surprise attack."

"She's just a kid Kakashi" Riokei growls, her use of my real name making me frown behind my Dog mask. "Why are we going to these lengths?"

"Riokei" I begin quietly, trying to maintain my temper, "I don't know why I need to remind you that I am the Captain of this team, but it seems that I do need to."

"You have never even seen Orochimaru in real life before" I continue, sounding a little cold, "While I've both seen and fought him. He may be evil and he may be twisted, but he's incredibly powerful. I'm not taking any chances with your lives on this mission."

"That little girl may possibly know something about Orochimaru. Why would I overlook a possible source of information? If that girl is really so innocent, then why does she possess such a strange chakra that even the Byakugan couldn't identify?"

"All good points Captain" Shi praises, though he sounds a little uncertain now.

"Alright, I get it, I get it" Riokei tells me quietly, turning her head away. "I'll do what you say."

Thank you" I reply, to both Riokei and Shi. "Now, Riokei, seeing as you're faster than Himeji and Shi, I want you to take the furthest side. Himeji, I'll get you to position yourself a few metres behind the girl. Shi, you stay here on the girl's right side, and I'll make my way around the front. I'll confront her from the river.......Nobody attacks the girl unless I give the signal."

"Which will be?" Riokei asks smartly, to which I can't help smirking behind my mask.

"If I say to attack" I reply, my tone sounding a little mocking. "All stupid questions aside, the plan is not to kill or hurt the girl if possible. I only want to get information out of her. Is that understood?"

Himeji, Shi and Riokei all nod their heads once.

"Good" I say, satisfied. "Shi, if I place my left hand in my pocket, I want you to restrain the girl with your Shadow Possession Jutsu okay? If she doesn't want to cooperate, it may be easier to just keep her in place with your Jutsu."

"Can do Captain!" Shi responds with a salute, the gesture making me smile a little. He was always so compliant and ready to help. Shi certainly made being the Captain of an ANBU Black Ops team a little easier!

"Alright then" I finish, "Scatter!"

We all dash away from each other, my teammates silently gliding through the long grass with ease, as I leap back into the trees, circling around to reach the river out of the child's view.

Carefully watching the girl as I crouch down, I see her staring into the water, only one eye visible due to her long hair covering the other. Though half lidded, I can see that the girl's eye is a strange hue of purple, the colour quite bright compared to her pale skin.

She blinks as I step onto the lake water, raising her eye to look at me. I approach slowly, not wanting to scare the girl with any sudden moves. Once I am about ten or so metres away, I stop, seeing that the girl is beginning to tense up a little, an uncertain expression on her face.

My brows furrow at the dull look in the girl's eye, despite its vivid colour. It looks as though her eye holds......sadness? Loneliness? I'm not sure, but it's certainly a strange thing to notice in the eyes of a girl who couldn't be any older than seven or eight.

"I knew you were out there" the girl speaks up softly, her voice devoid of any emotion. "I know the others are out there too.......You're all watching me, aren't you?"

I blink in surprise, wondering how the girl had known about our presence. Had we been too loud?....No, that couldn't be it. ANBU Black Ops are all experts when it comes to stealth.

"My friends and I are just curious about you" I reply carefully. "You have a strange chakra."

I see the little girl's eye widen at this, a frightened look quickly flashing across her face.

"Are.....Are you going to hurt me because of it?" she asks, swallowing thickly, before managing to regain her cool.

"No" I assure her honestly. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"Then why are the others surrounding me?" the girl questions, brows furrowing as her eye falls away from my face. "....What?........Oh......."

".....Who are you talking to?" I can't help asking, pausing when the girl glares over at me accusingly.

"You do want to hurt me" she decides, nodding vigorously. "....Yes......I know...."

"No, I promise" I reiterate, beginning to feel uneasy for some reason, "We have no intention of-"

"Flush them out?" the girl interrupts, tilting her head to the side and scowling in thought. "....How?....."

I stare at the little girl as she begins nodding again, pushing herself to her feet and turning around, eyes scanning the area. I feel my heart beat against my ribcage, a strange nervousness in my chest.

I don't know why I'm feeling this way, considering she's just a little girl. Maybe it's because I'm on edge about facing Orochimaru again, maybe I'm wary of the weird chakra this girl has, or maybe its the fact that she keeps talking to herself........I don't like this....

"Fire Style" the little girl says loudly, the swift hand signs she begins performing causing my eyes to widen again, "Fire Wolf Explosion!"

That said, the blonde girl breathes out a large number of fire balls that fall to the ground, quickly morphing into small Wolves. I bend my knees as three of them turn to face me, eyes glowing brightly.

All of the Wolves suddenly take off at once, three galloping towards me, as the others head for my hidden teammates.

I quickly perform a set of hand signs as the flaming Wolves approach, dashing across the lake, with steam rising from their paws.

"Water Clone Jutsu!" I shout, causing three exact copies of myself to rise out of the lake. The three Clones then throw their right arms downwards, left hands gripping their wrists.

As Lightning nature chakra begins building in the palms of my Clones, I see the little girl glance back at me over her shoulder, frowning unhappily.

"Lightning Blade!" my Water Clones shouts, leaping up as the three flaming Wolves throw themselves at me.

As the two Jutsu collide, the little girl's Wolves suddenly explode, the power behind the blast actually causing me to fall over backwards and get pushed beneath the water's surface.

Seeing a large fireball disperse high into the air, I burst above the water and leap to my feet, focusing my chakra to allow me to walk on the now unsteady water.

As I narrow my eyes at the little girl, I hear multiple explosions sound from behind, her mouth pulling up into a faint grin. I see that dull look in her eyes change into a darker one, her hair blowing out to the side from the explosions. Sharp teeth peek through the girl's smile, giving her an even more sinister look.

There's something very strange, if not a little disturbing about this girl.

"Arghh!" I hear a male voice cry out in pain, only for an injured Himeji to stumble into my view, the left side of his ANBU mask blown away. Fire burns across his chest, with the Hyuga struggling to put it out.

"Water Style" Riokei's voice rings through the air, "Hand of Waves!"

Suddenly appearing near Himeji, Riokei blasts the brunette with a powerful stream of water from her hand, immediately dousing the flames. She watches as he falls to his hands and knees, eyes squeezed tightly closed. Blood seeps from a severe burn to his right shoulder, the red liquid also dripping down his chin.

"You didn't have to attack my friends!" I shout at the blonde girl before me, to which she scowl again.

"You were going to hurt me!" she snaps back, though I see a faint look of confliction on her face. "....Weren't you?.........Yes...Yes! You were! People are always trying to hurt me!"

"You're gonna pay for what you did to him you little brat!" Riokei spits furiously, her hands balling into fists. "I don't care what you say Kakashi, I'm taking her out!"

My eyes widen as the red haired woman begins performing hand signs. No! I know that Himeji is injured, but we can't afford to ruin the plan now. This clearly isn't any normal little girl!

"She wants to hurt me?" I hear the blonde girl ask herself, slowly turning around to face my teammate. "What should I do Hakuba?...........Kill her? But I'm not strong enough.........Okay, I'll try...."

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Riokei shouts angrily, her chakra creating a huge, serpentine creature from the water she'd blasted at Himeji.

The Dragon throws its head back and releases a booming roar, before lunging towards the girl, its jaws agape.

The girl merely slides one foot back and raises her arms high above her head, a look of concentration on her young face. To my shock, Riokei's Jutsu pauses in mid air, as if paralysed.

"Wh-What?!" Riokei screeches incredulously, eyes no doubt wide behind her red and white mask. "What the hell's going on?!"

"Should I drown her?" the blonde girl asks quietly, nodding after a few moments of silence. "....Okay then..."

The girl then throws her arms forwards, the Water Dragon spinning around in mid air and lurching speedily back towards Riokei, much to the woman's surprise.

She cries out as she and the unsuspecting Himeji are slammed by the torrent with an incredible force that easily sweeps them across the ground.

I watch on with bated breath as Riokei manages to cling to a nearby tree, coughing and spluttering when she appears above the swirling water, her mask nowhere to be seen.

"H-Himeji?" the woman addresses, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and looking around frantically. "Himeji?........Himeji?!"

Riokei is unable to stop herself from letting out a scream when she spots the Hyuga lying a fair distance away, blood pooling below his head. I can't help briefly squeezing my eyes closed at the sight of Himeji's shattered skull, the injured brunette having been slammed against a large boulder before he'd so much as had a chance to brace himself.

"You....little.....bitch!" Riokei screams, leaping to her feet and whirling around to glare at the blonde kid. "Look at what you've done! You killed my teammate, my friend!.....I'm gonna kill you!"

I see the little girl's eyes widen in fright, and as she is about to move, she suddenly freezes in place, causing both Riokei and I to pause as well, blinking in confusion.

"What's going on?" my red haired teammate asks, only for a smirking Shi to step into view, the lower half of his mask missing.

"Heh" the Nara chuckles lowly, dropping down into a kneeling position, the blonde girl mirroring his movements, "Shadow Possession Jutsu completed!"

I begin to smile with relief, seeing a long shadow extending from Shi's and attaching itself to the little girl's, paralysing her. Now she wouldn't be able to try and get away or attack us again.

"Good job Shi!" Riokei compliments, sending Shi's prisoner a sinister grin. She reaches behind her and slowly begins to unsheathe the large blade attached to her back. "Now I can kill her no problem...."

"Wait" I order, stepping in front of the frightened girl. I glance back at her over my shoulder, only to see her eyeing me, body trembling slightly.

"Wh-Why can't I move?" the girl asks in a whisper. "....Hakuba?.."

"Why should I wait?" Riokei snarls, eyes burning with anger. "She killed Himeji! We can't even finish our damn mission now. We needed him!"

"I know" I reply calmly, trying to cool Riokei's temper for now. "I know it hurts, I'm angry too Riokei, but right now we still need to get information from this girl....."

Inhaling a deep breath to calm myself and not hurt the little girl, I turn around and look down at her.

"You're obviously no ordinary little girl" I begin lowly, not sounding particularly friendly any more. "With Jutsu like that, I can only assume you've been trained by someone strong, right?"

"Y-Yes...." the kid replies timidly, dropping her eyes to the ground, lower lip trembling.

"I figured as much" I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "Do you happen to know of a man named Orochimaru by any chance?"

The girl blinks at this, eyes brightening as she lifts her head to look at me again.

"You mean Lord Orochimaru?" she questions, sending me a closed eye smile. "Yes, I know him very well!"

I take a step back in shock at the girl's pleasant reaction to the criminal's name, while Riokei and Shi both glare at her, eyes narrowing.

"Lord Orochimaru?" Riokei growls, gripping her blade so tightly that her knuckles begin turning white. "She works for him Kakashi! That's it, she's dead!"

"Shut up Riokei!" I command angrily, unable to stop myself from raising my voice. I know this is a bad situation and this kid needs to be taken care of, but right now Riokei isn't helping the situation and I need to at least find out where Orochimaru is definitely hiding out. Then we could report the exact location back to the Hokage and send a team out to get rid of Orochimaru.

"Why don't you shut up Kakashi?!" Riokei yells madly. "That brainwashed little brat works for Orochimaru and she killed one of our teammates. She's not getting any sympathy from me just coz she's a kid!"

Riokei suddenly charges straight towards the girl, moving to step around me, sword brandished for a powerful swing.

"Hakuba!" the blonde girl cries fearfully, squeezing her eyes closed. "Help me!"

"No one is gonna help you kid!" my red haired teammate scoffs, aiming her blade for the girl's throat. "Now die!"

Riokei suddenly skids to a halt just as she is about to slice through the girl's neck however, seeing what I can only assume is chakra beginning to form around the blonde. My two teammates and I watch on in shock and slight horror as the little girl's hair fades from blonde to an ebony colour, her already sharp teeth extending into fangs.

The girl reopens her eyes, now glowing a ruby colour, and glowers at us with a look that sends a shiver down my spine. I don't think I've ever seen so much hate and resentment reflecting in someone's eyes before......What is going on with this kid?!

Riokei takes a cautious step back as the girl lets out a low, blood curdling growl, the dark chakra around her bubbling and sizzling hotly.

"What the hell did she just do?!" Riokei cries out, looking to me for an answer. I can only shrug in response, having no answer to her question.

"I don't know!" I call back. "You must've done something to her! Shi! You better let the kid go, before she hurts you!"

"No can do Captain!" Shi replies determinedly, though I can see small bead of sweat dripping from underneath his damaged mask. "I'll hold her down as long as possible!"

I grit my teeth together and look back to the girl, only to see what look to be two tails waving back and forth behind her, formed out of the same black chakra encasing her body.

I've never seen anything like this before. Is this girl the result of another one of Orochimaru's sick experiments?...

The young girl suddenly wrenches her neck around to glare at Riokei, before she opens her mouth wide and lets out a terrifying roar that causes my teammate to scurry backwards.

"Wh-what is she?" the woman asks in a hushed tone, now standing right next to me. "Is she like this because of Orochimaru?"

"I can only assume that's what this is" I reply carefully, not taking my eyes off of the creature before us, poised and staring, as if waiting to strike.

"You were going to kill my host body" a deep voice states lowly, the sound coming from the little girl's mouth. "How naïve of you........I own this body!"

"H-Hey?" Shi asks, now panting wearily. "Can you guys wrap it up? I-I don't know why, b-but she's a lot harder to hold l-like this....."

"We're trying!" I call over my shoulder, eyes widening as the girl bares her teeth in a vicious grin, slowly rising up into a standing position. "Hang on Shi!"

"Let go of me!" the girl thunders in her deep, somewhat demonic sounding voice.

"N-Never!" Shi retorts, though I can see that his body has begun to shake with the effort of keeping the girl under control.

Wow, if even Shi is struggling to hold her down with his Shadow Possession Jutsu, she must be strong. This isn't good....We need to get away from this situation before anyone else is killed. Or worse, Orochimaru shows up.....

"Pathetic human" the chakra enveloped girl chuckles darkly, red eyes flashing in sick amusement. "You have reached your limit..........You will not like me when I am free of this......"

I don't understand what Orochimaru has done to this young girl, but it's almost like someone has taken control of her body or something. It's definitely unnerving to say the least...

"Agh, take this you little freak!" Riokei suddenly shouts, launching herself forwards and stabbing her sword into the girl's chakra coated arm. The girl throws back her head and roars angrily as the blade is pierced into her flesh, before it is violently expelled and sent sailing through the air.

"Hey!" Riokei barks, watching as her swords flies over head and disappears below the surface of the lake. "My sword!"

Before my teammate can so much as turn back around, the blonde girl lurches forwards and grabs Riokei by the neck, easily lifting her into the air.

"Ahhhhhhh!" the red head screams in pain, steam rising from her neck, the chakra seemingly burning her skin. She flails her legs madly, struggling to break free.

"Let her go!" I demand, hooding my eyes, only for the young girl to begin laughing evilly, the sound once again making me cringe.

"I-I'm sorry Captain...." Shi apologies as the chakra veiled girl begins to thrash around, finally breaking free of my tired teammate's Jutsu. Shi drops to his hands and knees, while I throw my right hand down towards the ground, scowling angrily at my laughing opponent.

Trying my best to block out Riokei's agonising screams, I focus a large amount of chakra into my palm, sparks of lightning zapping at the dirt below my feet.

With the powerful electricity crackling in my hand, I launch myself straight at the chakra coated girl, my speed heightened thanks to my Jutsu.

"Lightning Blade!" I shout, ramming my lightning covered hand into the girl's stomach with as much force as I can muster. I groan as my Lightning Blade immediately fades away, a sharp pain engulfing my hand and travelling all the way up my arm, the black chakra searing my flesh.

"You truly think your petty attacks can harm me?" the girl asks with a horrible smirk, before throwing one of her chakra tails towards me at speed.

I manage to dodge the attack, her tail slamming heavily into the ground and leaving a significant dent right where I'd just been standing.

I'm glad I hadn't been hit by that, but Riokei is still in the girl's grip. She isn't screaming anymore, but I doubt that's a good thing....

"H-Hey, leave the C-Captain alone!" Shi's tired voice commands, catching our enemy's attention.

Baring her teeth in another smirk, the girl tosses Riokei aside and begins walking towards Shi. Riokei lands with a thud in the grass, banging her head on the ground.

"Riokei!" I cry, running over to the woman and dropping to my knees beside her. I slowly shake my head in disbelief at Riokei's injuries, the skin almost completely melted away from her throat. Blood pours from her raw flesh, some of the skin hanging in melted strands.

"Kakashi" Riokei wheezes, brows furrowed as she weakly reaches up and tries to push me away, "G-Go help Shi.....I'll h-heal myself and th-then-"

Here Riokei begins coughing, small drops of blood falling from her lips to the ground. The proud woman merely wipes her mouth with the back of her shaking hand and grins at me, despite her immense pain.

"I'll help you g-guys out" Riokei finishes.

"Okay" I agree reluctantly, though I really do need to get to Shi before the girl can kill him, "But promise me that you'll be alright?"

"Yeah, yeah" Riokei laughs hoarsely, waving me away, "I promise you C-Captain..."

"Ninja Art: Shadow Stitching Jutsu!" I hear Shi yell, to which I leap to my feet and whirl around, already running for my friend.

"No Shi!" I shout urgently. "You'll use up all of your chakra!"

As I run towards Shi and the chakra encased girl, I see numerous shadow-like tendrils stretch away from him, some wrapping around the girl's limbs as others attempt to pierce through her body. On impact however, the tendrils burn right away, dissolving into thin air.

I slide to a halt beside Shi, right as he collapses back down onto his hands and knees, the Nara gasping for breath.

I know that the Shadow Possession Jutsu takes up a lot of chakra, and the only reason Shi had been able to hold down such a strong opponent for so long was due to him being such an advanced Ninja. I can't imagine any of the other Nara Clan members being able to perform such a feat, except for maybe Shikaku, Shi's brother.

"Shikai?!" I exclaim worriedly, using the man's real name by accident. "Are you alright?!........Don't waste your energy on her, Jutsu don't seem to work!.......What's so funny?"

"I'm not laughing because anything is funny Captain" Shikai chuckles sadly, still struggling to breath properly due to using too much chakra, "It's just that........Next week is my nephew's birthday and it looks like I won't get to see him...........Could you....Say happy birthday to him for me Kakashi?..."

"No" I reply quietly, raising my eyes as the demon-like girl turns to us with a smirk, "You can say happy birthday to Shikamaru yourself!"

The girl watches with interest as Shikai slumps to the ground, unconscious, one hand raised and facing Riokei.

"You should say good bye to the woman" the little girl informs me in her deep voice, to which my brows furrow.

"Leave her alone!" I command, rising to my feet. "You've done enough today!"

"Well, she's almost dead anyway" the girl reasons, waving her hand, the movement causing a large mound of earth to wrap itself around Riokei, only her head visible.

"Kakashi...." the red head says softly, barely conscious any more. "I-I'm sorry for troubling you.......You're a great C-Captain...."

"No...." I reply quietly, eyes wavering. "No, don't say that Riokei! You're not-"

"Human emotions are pathetic" the girl suddenly interrupts, clenching her hand into a fist. I can't help falling to my knees as the earth around Riokei constricts, immediately crushing her to death, blood splashing to the ground. I look down as a droplet lands on the back of my hand, eyes growing so wide, they begin to hurt.

"No.......No...." I mutter repeatedly, shaking my head. "Stop....Stop killing them! Stop killing my friends!"

'Obito, Rin' I think wildly, my anger beginning to boil over as all of their faces flash through my mind, 'Sensei, Father and now Himeji and Riokei too.......I couldn't protect any of them.....'

I climb to my feet and whirl around, ripping my mask off and throwing it to the ground, my Sharingan now activated.

I can suddenly see the girl's chakra, swarming around her small body crazily. I don't know how she's able to keep such unstable, powerful chakra under control.....Well, maybe she can't. Maybe that's why she's become this thing. I can't even imagine what Orochimaru had done to the kid to achieve whatever this creature is....

"Drop him" I order darkly, seeing that the girl now has Shi by the neck. She turns to me with an amused smirk, only for her ruby eyes to widen when she notices my Sharingan eye.

To my surprise, the girl immediately releases Shi and begins walking towards me, still seemingly mesmerised by my eye. Stopping only a few metres away from me, the girl raises one hand and points at me, narrowing her eyes a little.

"How did you get that?" she asks lowly, her face slowly dropping into an angry scowl.

"That's none of your concern" I state coldly, taking up a defensive stance. "Now, why don't you get out of here and go back to wherever it is you came from, before you make me any angrier...."

At my commands, the girl groans loudly and grabs at her head, fingers curling into her dark hair.

"No!" she roars furiously, falling heavily to her knees and hunching over. "I hate it, I hate it! How could someone like you even possess it?! You are not an Uchiha!"

I watch on in sheer confusion as the girl continues to shout angrily, her fangs retracting back into her mouth and her hair swiftly becoming a honey colour again. The chakra fades away from the kid's skin, leaving her looking as small and powerless as when I first saw her.

Falling forwards onto her hands, the girl turns her head to look at me, allowing me to see that her eyes are back to their strange purple colour. Sweat shines on her face, the girl panting heavily.

"L-Lord.....Orochimaru....." she breathes, shutting her eyes and turning away from me, ".....He.....He approaches....."

I begin to internally panic at that, as the blonde girl drops to the ground. Whether she's asleep, unconscious or dead, I no longer care, I just want to get out of here before Orochimaru arrives!

Pulling a scroll out of my weapons pouch as I race over to Himeji's body, I drop down beside him and hurriedly seal the Hyuga away. While I don't want any Ninja from other Villages to find his body and possibly try to extract information on the Hyuga Clan from it, I also want to be able to take Himeji back home to his family.

I'm sure they would like to have a proper burial for him....

Riokei.....I don't think there's much I can salvage, seeing as that girl completely obliterated her body.

Having to swallow the lump in my throat, I turn away from the pool of Riokei's blood and make my way over to Shi, manoeuvring his unconscious body onto my back so that I can take him back to the Village for urgent medical attention. His heart beat is slight, but if I can get Shi to a hospital, any hospital soon, he should survive.

With my heart pounding against my chest in fear and aching with the loss of my two teammates, I secure Shi on my back and leap away, wondering exactly what we had just gotten ourselves into.