27

Her body was awake and alert long before her alarm began to blare. She shushed it absently, continuing to stare blankly at the picture that held her attention.

Sarutobi Asuma's hands were clasped behind his back, she knew, a proud smile etched forever onto his face. Kiba held his right hand in a fist, too-sharp incisors bared at the camera in a feral grin; Akamaru perched in his partner's hair, happy as he had ever been.

She glanced to her own face, lingering pride at having passed Asuma's probation to become a full-fledged genin clear in her eyes. Barely more than a year ago…

It felt like a lifetime as Ino finally let her eyes rest on the final member of Team Ten. Naruto's blond hair shone like the sun, his lips barely parted in a satisfied smile that stretched his whisker marks.

She waited patiently, seafoam eyes locked on the face of her former teammate, friend, and boyfriend, for the familiar empty pangs that would leave her breathless and teary eyed. She hadn't once looked at the old photo of Team Ten in the six months since Naruto's defection. Hadn't been able to bring herself to look at the face of the boy who had been able to calm her down and set her heart racing in equal measure.

Ino blinked, cocking her head to the side as she turned her gaze inward. She had never lacked self-awareness – it was a necessity to walk the minds of others – and rarely questioned her thoughts and feelings. They were natural. It was dealing with them that was difficult.

"Only takes six months, then," she murmured, surprised in spite of herself.

There was no manual for getting over a teammate defecting. Everyone had told her that. It took time to stop seeing that person as a friend and comrade. No one could pinpoint just how much time, however.

Better than the alternative, she told herself distantly, feeling her heartrate spike. It wasn't heartache that made her short of breath these days. "Wouldn't wanna be a blubbering mess when I get my hands on you." Her eyes narrowed, simmering anger a familiar comfort.

She tore the old team photo roughly, without a word, removing Naruto's third of the picture the same way he had left Konoha. The intact two-thirds left over drifted to the floor of her apartment lazily as she rose abruptly, striding to the far wall. Ino placed the torn photo at eye level, drew a kunai, and stabbed it through Naruto's chest.

"I'm coming for you," she growled at him. "And you're gonna be sorry you ever made me feel like this. I promised. And you can't break a promise; isn't that right?" She stared at the smiling photo for a long moment before she shook herself.

"Get ahold of yourself, Ino," she told herself. You're talking to a damn picture. She breathed deeply, once, twice, three times, and blinked her eyes open once more.

Firmly in control of her emotions, she spared one last glance at her former teammate's face before sweeping away toward her bed. Ino clipped her tanto to its now-familiar place on her left side, ignoring the sight of her fingers covered in skintight black gloves. She slapped each of her new, gray forearm bracers, making sure they were properly strapped, and reaffixed her new chest protector.

Ino turned her eyes down to the last two items on her bed; a charcoal cloak laid placidly, waiting for her to don it for the first time, and a porcelain mask with an eagle's face stared up at her. Thick, deep purple brushstrokes by her own hand painted the bird of prey's sharp visage into a hawkish frown.

A wry smile twisted her lips at the sight. "Gotta get used to it eventually…" Ino snapped the mask up a moment later, clipping it to her right hip, and swung the cloak around her shoulders.

Two quick steps carried her to the window that led to her fire escape, and she wasted no time slipping out. A quick flip carried her over the edge and upward to the roof of her three story building.

Yamanaka Inoichi stood casually leaned against the far wall of the roof, arms crossed. Ino nearly jumped out of her cloak, and the smallest of smiles split the veteran jonin's lips.

"Daddy?" Ino croaked, mastering her surprise in a moment. "What're you doing here?"

"You didn't think I'd let you go to your first day without seeing you off, did you?" her father asked.

Ino colored. "I…it crossed my mind," she hedged, and felt a pang a moment later as Inoichi's face fell.

"You know I'm proud of you, sweetheart. So unbelievably proud of you," he said, seafoam eyes overflowing with sincerity. "It's just been –"

"Difficult," Ino finished for him, smiling to try to relieve the tension. She walked to him, letting him wrap her in his arms gently. "How's mom?"

"Sleeping," Inoichi murmured into her hair. "Worried about you."

She grimaced. "I just had to get away, daddy."

"I know, Ino. Your mother does too, deep down. It's just difficult for her to accept." He held her at arm's length, smiling down at her, and Ino felt her heart swell at the pride swimming in his eyes. "It's tough enough for me, you growing up so fast, and I've lived it. Just give her time."

Ino sighed. As prodigious as her father was in the mind arts, for all the perception it gave him, he had a blind spot the size of the Hokage Monument for her mother. She suspected he had a similar one for her, as well. "She's been like this since I became a genin. Don't think she's gonna calm down about me joining ANBU any time soon."

"She loves you," Inoichi declared.

"I know she does. I just can't handle her smothering me and trying to get me to change my mind every day. Not about this."

"She's also quite stubborn," her father told her, the barest hint of a smile curling the edges of his lips. "A trait you two share, I might add."

Ino felt herself scowl, but refrained from commenting at the amusement on her father's face. She knew how her decision to move out three months previous had weighed on him – it was good to see him in good spirits.

"Well, let's see it then," he said, stepping back to give her space.

She felt her heartrate pick up in spite of herself – he'd be the first person to see her mask since she painted it. Each ANBU's mask was painted by the member personally and her father, having worked with the clandestine group daily for decades, would no doubt psychoanalyze every detail. It was his job.

Ino unclipped the porcelain from its place on her belt and removed it from beneath her cloak, holding it out for Inoichi to take. He did so wordlessly, expression carefully neutral in a way that had always rankled her as a child.

"Which bird?" he asked.

"An eagle."

Her father blinked as he stared down at the mask, silent for a long moment before handing it back to her. "One of a fox's natural predators," he said, voice as blank as his expression.

"You don't approve."

She was treated to the sight of her normally unflappable father's face creasing into a conflicted grimace. "You have every right to feel the way you do, Ino. I just don't want to see you consumed by this…"

"This what?" Ino heard herself bite.

"Crusade," Inoichi finished around a sigh. "You're angry –"

"A pretty fair reaction, I'd say."

" – which, as I said, is your right. But please, sweetheart, be careful," her father pleaded, gripping her shoulders. His eyes, so similar to her own, bored into her. "ANBU changes people. It's why I was hesitant about you joining the liaison program in the first place. Adding something like this to an already stressful tour…I couldn't bear to see you get hurt, Ino."

She averted her eyes, turning them down and away to avoid her father's beseeching gaze. "I have to do this, daddy. I have to." She shook her head, letting him hold her steady as a rising tide of emotion gripped her. "He's only going to get stronger, and I'm not gonna catch up running B-ranked missions with some chunin squad. It's the only way for me to catch him."

"And when you do? What then? We don't treat traitors well. You cared for the boy. Could you handle seeing him in chains, tortured, executed?"

Ino very carefully withheld a wince. Hate is a funny emotion, she thought, her resolve crystallizing at her own emotional rollercoaster. You set yourself on this path. You've gotta see it through. "I trusted him. I trusted him and he lied to me. Every day we were together he lied to me," she said, spitting the last despite her best intention. Get ahold of yourself, Ino. She breathed deeply, once, twice, and refocused. "I made a promise to bring him back. Either kicking and screaming or in a bag doesn't matter. He betrayed me, he betrayed Kiba, he betrayed Asuma-sensei, all of us."

"Uzumaki Naruto isn't your responsibility, sweetheart."

He is. "Maybe not," she allowed. "But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try, daddy. You get that, right?"

Inoichi's eyes softened, and Ino ruthlessly quashed the guilt at preying on his affection. "I do. People rarely make sound decisions when they're angry, Ino. I just want to make sure you're not casting yourself into a fire for nothing."

She mustered a smile. "I'll be fine. I'm your daughter, after all."

He smiled sardonically. "And now you're buttering me up. I raised you too well." Inoichi's smile turned proud once more, though it didn't light up his eyes like earlier. "You're the best our clan has to offer this world, sweetheart, both in ability and conviction. You've always been emotional, but never more so than when your friends were threatened. Call it sentiment, but I hope that never changes."

Ino felt herself blush in spite of herself. "I'll do my best."

"You always do." Her father laid a hand on her head softly, gently ruffling her hair. "Never doubt how proud I am of you. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't worry."

She smiled. "I know."

Inoichi pulled her in for another hug, one she returned whole-heartedly. "Wish Kiba luck when you see him," he said as he let her go and stepped back, clearing a path for her.

"Thanks, daddy." Ino spared him one last smile before she formed a half ram seal and sped off in a shunshin. The earth tones of Konoha blurred for a few moments as the speed jutsu carried her to the outskirts of the village, toward the multitude of training grounds that lined the outer walls.

Two familiar chakra presences tweaked her awareness and she slipped out of the body flicker for a moment, changed direction ever-so-slightly, and disappeared once more. She reappeared in a swirl of leaves a moment later, gratified at the sight of similarly cloaked shinobi lazing against a tree.

"You're late," Kiba growled, though there was no real heat behind the words. A low bark that she was still getting used to heralded Akamaru's presence, and she dropped to a knee to pet her old teammate's partner. He's getting so big!

"My dad showed up on my roof."

"Trying to stop you?"

Ino shook her head, scratching Akamaru on the sweet spot behind his ears. "Just wishing me luck. Said to pass it on to you when I saw you."

Her feral ex-teammate nodded. "Tell him thanks for me when you see him again. You ready?"

The blonde considered for a moment, letting the ninken trot back over to Kiba. "As I'll ever be. If six months of intensive training didn't do it, nothing will."

"They picked us for a reason," the Inuzuka said easily. "Left all the scrubs behind. You know what team you'll be on?"

"Some division of Beta Platoon."

"Probs for the best. Alpha's a buncha stuck up pricks."

Ino rolled her eyes, long since used to her friend's uncompromising declarations. "How you feeling?" she asked.

Kiba just shrugged. "They'll gimme shit for being a newbie, but that's just how it goes. Me and Akamaru'll fit right in in no time."

Considering the Hunter-nin are two-thirds Inuzuka already, I should hope so, she thought. She withheld a cringe a moment later. They're all just like him too… Suddenly she was glad she had decided to forgo the Hunter-nin corps and apply for Operations. "Well…see you in two years?" she offered.

Kiba grinned, his top incisors poking out. "See you in two years. And if we haven't caught the bastard by then, well…"

"We'll do it some other way," Ino finished, trying to smile back and failing miserably.

"Damn straight. See you around, Yamanaka. C'mon, Akamaru!" he called, leaping in to the tree canopy to go join his assigned squad.

"Later," she muttered. She'd gotten used to Kiba's brusqueness, but it was still off-putting at times. A little support would be nice…

Ino shook her head, casting the useless thoughts aside. "Focus up, girl." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, two, three, four times. Feeling her heartrate settle and her mind calm ever so slightly, she opened her eyes.

Forming a half ram seal, she disappeared in a shunshin once more, darting through foliage and dense underbrush with ease. Training ground twenty-seven, she thought, remembering the information packet she'd received the day before.

She reappeared in a puff of smoke. The clearing was as small as she remembered from having staked it out the day before, barely large enough for two people to practice taijutsu together. She cast her senses about, struggling not to reflexively close her eyes as she searched for chakra presences.

Ino schooled her features as she found two immediately. One was concealed in the bushes to her immediate right, the second camouflaged in the trees to her left. Need to be better, she chided herself. I'd be dead if this was an ambush. Now where's the third…?

"Yamanaka Ino." She blinked, managing through some sheer force of will to contain a flinch at the deep voice that spoke from everywhere at once. A burly man, cloaked in white and sporting a bear mask, rose fluidly from the earth in front of her, only then becoming noticeable to her senses. "Welcome," he said, his voice now only coming from him.

The two shinobi she had noticed reappeared at the captain's sides in flutters of leaves. They both wore the same grey cloak she sported, and were of similar heights. With their cloaks and mask in place, Ino couldn't make many observations about either of them outside of their masks: one a severe-faced bird delicately painted in red, the other a grinning green lizard.

Am I supposed to say something? she wondered, fighting the urge to fidget in front of her new teammates.

She was spared an awkward opening as the three shinobi moved as one, each reaching up and removing their masks. The captain had brown eyes and brown hair and looked so utterly unremarkable that Ino felt he had been born for covert ops. Her eyes slid to the left and widened slightly at the young face that stared back at her. The lizard masked shinobi was a boy who couldn't have been more than two years her senior; pale green eyes narrowed slightly as he smirked at her, clearly enjoying her surprise. Ino pursed her lips at the taunt, fighting not to flush the same color as his hair and darting her eyes to the final ANBU.

Off-white, pupil-less eyes regarded her with a seemingly distant disdain that all Hyuuga besides Hinata had apparently had bred into them. And where her new friend's Byakugan only ever looked upon her with kindness, Ino couldn't help but feel naked beneath the stare of the ANBU in front of her.

"Hello," she managed levelly, refocusing on the captain and squaring her shoulders. "Yamanaka Ino, codename Washi, reporting for duty, sir."

"Well met, Washi. My name is Suzuki Housei, codenamed Kuma. To my left is Hyuuga Hikari, codename Taka. To my right is Haruno Daisuke, codename Tokage. We are Epsilon Squad," the captain rumbled.

Ino kept her eyes steadily on Housei, despite wanting to dissect the redhead to his right. No one ever told me what Sakura's cousin did… "What are my duties, captain?" she asked instead.

The ghost of a smile overtook the captain's face. "Training. We leave for deployment in one month. You come highly touted from the Liaison Program, however…"

"We're still gonna whip you into shape, rookie," Daisuke burst out, a full-fledged grin overtaking his face.

The Hyuuga sighed, turning her eyes skyward for a moment. "If you could maintain decorum for even a minute, Tokage."

"Let him have his fun, Taka," Housei chided, brown eyes warm. "He's not the rookie anymore, after all."

"Of course, senpai."

Ino felt her eyes slide back and forth between her new teammates, feeling at ease and like an interloper in the same moment. You'll find I'm full of surprises, she thought challengingly, meeting Daisuke's eyes for a moment. His grin only widened.

"Don your mask, Yamanaka-san," Housei commanded, suddenly serious. He replaced his own, the other two following suit.

Ino slipped her hand inside her cloak, fingers finding and retrieving the delicately carved porcelain. She took one look at the scowling eagle, exhaled, and raised it to her face.

She felt the minute pulse of chakra as the adhesion seals molded the mask to her skull; it couldn't be removed by any hand but her own, she knew. Ino blinked in a slight stupor as the world around her remained unchanged to her eyes. No loss of vision or depth perception. Dumbass, did you really think ANBU saw everything through holes? she chided herself.

"Ready, senpai!" she barked, feeling the first tendrils of anticipation and nervousness increase her heartrate.

The captain wasted no time regarding her, turning instead to leap into the trees. Taka and Tokage followed, and Ino blasted off the ground with chakra to catch up.

She found herself next to Sakura's cousin as they bounded through the trees, and the teen turned his masked face to her for a moment.

"Welcome to ANBU, Washi."

/~/

Darkness had become a familiar comfort. The darkness of unconsciousness, sleep or involuntary, was the only respite he had. As such, he took it wherever he could. Meditation was preached at him daily – through self-awareness comes self-control, through self-control comes strength – and he even managed it every now and then.

Not now, though.

He'll come through the west door. Fast. Meet him halfway. He likes to open with elbows, get in close. Let him. You're stronger now, even with his bones.

He suppressed the memories of broken bones and torn muscles. Of screams and pain; the long hours that had gifted him a hope of challenging his nemesis. Give him what he wants. Get what you need.

A whisper of wind on his skin was his only warning.

Blue eyes snapped open wide, adjusting to the dim light of the chamber with practiced ease. Stone tiles shattered into dust beneath his feet as he exploded forward. His left forearm met his assailant's and he contained a wince. Fucking kekkei genkai, small wonder they slaughtered you all.

Blue eyes met sneering green and Naruto felt his lip curl instinctively.

"I pray Orochimaru-sama finally lets me kill you today," Kimimaro told him, his soft voice belying his murderous intent.

Naruto said nothing, choosing instead to spin in place and slam a side-kick into the pale teen's chest. It barely moved him, predictably, and he closed in quickly. He ducked a bone sprouting from the Kaguya's elbow that would've pieced his skull and channeled his upward momentum into an uppercut at his predecessor's ribs. Tightly bound chakra cushioned the blow around his knuckles as a crack greeted his ears. He knew better than to expect a reaction, however.

The blond stood inside Kimimaro's guard and levied a haymaker at the teen's head that was immediately blocked by a forearm that might've been made of steel. Orochimaru's favorite servant stared him down with disdain as he held Naruto's arm in place. "Trash like you has no place here."

He snapped a punch to Kimimaro's jaw once, twice, three times, and only managed to bruise his knuckles. Like punching a goddamn wall. Except walls break. A low kick to the shin threw the older nin off balance just enough to alter a follow up palm strike to Naruto's sternum. He merely skidded back as opposed to being sent airborne, mercifully not gasping for breath.

Pivoting right, Naruto spun out of the way of a dropping heel that cracked the stone floor. Shards of bone flying from Kimimaro's fingertips halted his immediate counter, however, forcing him to duck. He twitched, quelling the urge to call a Rasengan to his hand, snarling all the while. It's not worth it.

Blurring forward in a body flicker, Naruto lashed out with a high kick at the older teen's head. He palmed a kunai as Kimimaro ducked and, using his momentum, torqued himself into a throw at point blank range.

The knife caught the white-haired youth in the right shoulder, but he might as well have missed for all the mind Kimimaro paid it. The older teen rose from his crouch, a blade of bone in his hand that Naruto leaned away from as it slashed at his chest. I'm not close enough, he thought, cursing himself as he parried a stab with an open palm to the wrist.

He blocked another stab with another jab, lamenting his lack of reach even as the bone slipped from Kimimaro's grasp. The blade twirled in the air, mesmerizing for a moment, before Kimimaro snatched it in a reverse grip and brought it down mercilessly. Naruto turned sideways, making himself smaller to avoid the slash, but had no time to capitalize on the momentary opening. Blocking a stab to his face, he managed to catch the immediate follow up shot at his exposed leg with both hands, and lifted the blade up and over his head with a grunt of effort, throwing Kimimaro's guard open.

Blinding pain tore a scream from his throat a moment later. He glanced down at the bone protruding from his right shoulder, its hilt still encased in Kimimaro's open palm.

Naruto torqued himself hard, managing to withhold another scream as the bone was torn from his flesh, and landed a haymaker across his assailant's jaw. It was enough to snap the older teen around, his footing lost, and the blond wasted no time. He leapt and spun and snapped his heel into Kimimaro's chest with enough force to send him flying.

Landing lightly, he blasted forward. He brought his knee up in time to catch the white haired teen in the chest, keeping him on the back foot, but not for long. A wide punch met the older teen's left forearm and halted. Blue eyes met green once more before Kimimaro's fist clocked him in the face with a spray of blood.

Naruto managed to hold his composure, leaning right and bringing his left arm up high to take a punch to his ribs. He ignored them cracking, bringing his left arm back down to pin his assailant's close to his body and rotating hard. The blond leveraged himself backward and up, turning the momentum into a throw that flipped Kimimaro back-first into the stone tiling beneath them.

Not wasting a moment, Naruto drew his right fist back and punched down with everything he had. His fist met the older teen's chest with enough force to level a building, and the resulting shockwave popped his ears as the ground beneath Kimimaro turned into a crater.

The faintest glow of the cursed seal was warning enough to see Naruto leaping backward in time to keep his hand from being sliced off. He landed lightly, watching warily as Kimimaro pushed himself to his feet, the bones of his ribcage crisscrossing at his front. The blond rolled his right shoulder, grimacing at the lance of pain, and bared his teeth. Minute and a half. Full ten seconds quicker than last time. You're getting better, he thought sardonically.

He watched, warily, as contorting and parallel lines spread outward from Kimimaro's upper chest. Speed uptick. Strength uptick.

This wasn't meant to be a fair fight. At least not for him.

His enhanced opponent whipped a hand up level to Naruto's chest, and the blond flattened himself against the ground. He felt the projectiles pass harmlessly overhead with a whisper of displaced air, strafing right as soon as they were clear. Focus focus focus! he yelled at himself, forcing his breathing even as he dodged Kimimaro's stab. The downward strike pierced the tiled floor as Naruto rolled, watching warily as the older teen reversed his momentum and tore after him.

The world sharpened to a pinpoint to his senses, Naruto's chakra circulating furiously to keep up with the teen who was faster than him to begin with. He felt his eyes begin to water as chakra suffused his legs, the high speed motion beginning to take its toll. The blond planted and squared up in the time it took to blink, just managing to lower himself as Kimimaro exited his shunshin, bone blade poised to bisect him.

Ducking the blade, Naruto leaned low inside Kimimaro's guard and planted an uppercut between the exposed ribcage. The older teen rocketed up and over the blond with a muted grunt. Exhaling, Naruto closed his eyes momentarily, thin tendrils of chakra rising to them. Blue eyes popped open a moment later, the world around him a shade blurrier.

Spinning, he leapt to his left into a shunshin. He saw Kimimaro follow him, halted, and blurred back toward his assailant to the sound of shattering stone beneath his feet. Precise control kept the world from dissolving to tunnel vision as the two teens met, forearms crashing together hard enough to shake dust from the walls.

Naruto blocked a wide stab at his torso with punch to Kimimaro's forearm and knocked the blade free. It spun momentarily before the older teen snatched it in a reverse grip with his other hand, slashing it back at Naruto's neck.

The blond leaned back to avoid having his throat cut, and rolled back onto his hands. Vaulting himself, he planted both his feet in Kimimaro's chest with a grunt of exertion.

The older teen stumbled back a step as Naruto stayed low. The blond torqued his body into a spin that swept Kimimaro's legs from beneath him and, still spinning, leveraged himself into a kick to the torso that sent his nemesis flying.

Naruto tore after him, the speed of his body flicker making his eyes water even through the chakra that protected them. He reappeared behind Kimimaro with his arm outstretched in a deadly clothesline. The older teen crashed into him with a 'crack' that echoed through the room before dropping bonelessly to the floor.

Triumph creeping in at the fringes, Naruto channeled chakra to his right hand, hardening his fingers in the closest thing to a jutsu he was allowed.

A wave of malevolent energy blew him off his feet he could even cock his fist back to deliver the death stroke. He gasped as he landed hard, shoulder screaming in protest. Naruto ignored the pain, though, leveraging himself to his feet with a grunt, only to feel a crushing pressure around his neck.

A monster stood in front of him. Where Kimimaro was pale, the monster had dark grey skin that was knitting back together before Naruto's eyes. Six enlarged vertebrae creeped out of his back, easily visible over the top of his head.

The blond sputtered impotently as yellow eyes regarded him balefully. His hands clawed at the vice about his neck, only succeeding in bloodying his fingers.

"You are unworthy," the monster growled. Naruto felt himself pulled closer, the grip on his neck tightening. "Undeserving of the honor Orochimaru-sama bestows upon you."

Naruto's vision began to blur and he reached, blindly, for the Kyuubi. He felt the stirrings of malice within him a moment before, "That's enough," rang through the room.

The pressure about his neck disappeared and he dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, gasping for breath. He felt, more than saw, Kimimaro fall to a knee beside him, head bowed in supplication. Heaving, Naruto pushed himself to a knee. Weakness would not be tolerated.

Pale, sandaled feet appeared in front of him silently. "You've done well, Kimimaro," Orochimaru declared. The older teen straightened imperceptibly in Naruto's periphery as the blond clenched a fist. "Kabuto is waiting for you."

"Thank you…Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro demurred, the hesitation in his voice concealing what Naruto expected was a bloody cough. He felt his teeth grind as the older teen rose and staggered off, his cursed seal induced endurance fading along with his skin. A fucking cripple, he cursed, not for the first time.

"And what am I to do you with, my friend?" Naruto was silent, eyes down as he fought to keep his face neutral. "You show such promise, and yet…"

Knowing he was expected to finish the sentence with whatever his latest failure was, he forcibly relaxed his jaw. Insolence would only result in his next "training" session with Kabuto being all the more painful. "I hesitated," he managed around his fury.

"When?"

"At the end. I took too long to gather my chakra when it should have been ready the moment I took the advantage."

"Not incorrect," Orochimaru allowed. "But you hesitated long before. When?"

Naruto blinked. "I don't know." The truth tasted like ash in his mouth as he said it, but he knew better than to waste time fumbling for an answer he didn't know.

"I don't believe you." The blond held back a flinch at the words, though they were spoken in the same soft hiss as everything else his jailor said. "You were given a gift, yet refuse to use it."

Kyuubi.

"Shall I let Kabuto know that you enjoy pain, Naruto-kun? Surely he can devise more creative training methods."

"I don't."

"So why do you persist with such stubbornness? Your father would not have given you such power if he didn't wish for you to use it."

Naruto's vision went red for reasons that had nothing to do with the nine-tails. He's goading you, a tiny voice shouted at him from very far away, just loud enough to beat back the rage. He bit his tongue hard enough to make it bleed.

Orochimaru sighed heavily, theatrically – Naruto knew better than to think emotion ever got the better of him. "You refuse your father's dying gift knowing that you cannot hope to win without it. I ask you: to what end? Is your life meaningless to you, finally, after all these months of struggle? Have I wasted my time when I should have turned you over to the Akatsuki the moment you were presented to me?"

"No," Naruto gritted out. He felt the malevolent energy begin to writhe within him as his anger rose.

"So you say. Understand, my friend, that you only harm yourself with your intransigence. Akatsuki will come for you all the same, and I will not give you leave to hunt them until I know you won't die for some foolish pride."

"It's not pride." I have no pride anymore. "I can't control it," the blond finally managed. "It's like a haze on my mind."

Orochimaru was silent, clearly in thought. "Rise," he commanded after nearly a full minute. Naruto did so gladly. "How fares your chakra control?"

The blond blinked, staring at the pale man before him. The Sannin's face was closed as it often was when he was puzzling something. "Improving."

"Your drills will change. Begin the leaf sticking exercise again, with the nine-tails' chakra instead of your own."

Naruto shook his head. "It won't work. It comes in waves, not droplets."

A pencil thin eyebrow rose, though he didn't look displeased, Naruto noted with some relief. "Then you shall simply become precise enough to dam the sea itself."

The blond fought a groan at the impossible task. He would not complain, however. "I'll need time," he said. He hated himself for the words, but without them he'd be faced with Kimimaro in two days' time. And there'd be nothing to stop the older teen from powering his cursed seal from the beginning.

A magnanimous smile split Orochimaru's lips. "You shall have it. Kimimaro will need more rest after your bout." It was the closest thing to actual praise he was likely to receive and, in spite of himself, Naruto straightened slightly.

"You have three days."

His mouth fell open, but the Sannin had already turned his back to him, striding away with purpose. "Do not waste them, my friend."

Naruto let himself fall bodily to the floor, strength finally leaving him. Head shaking, he stared up at the ceiling, unsure what he was looking for.

/~/