Hello my freundinnen! So, I've arrived safely in London... but this place is so confusing! So many railways! And metros! And underground and overground, how am I supposed to keep track of which to use where?! I'm so lost TT^TT I honestly don't know how you Britts keep track of all the different lines! Gosh!(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

Well anyways, I think I'm going to figure it out... said I never! Happy Valentines day btw lovelies~ (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

________

Shikamaru was standing in front of the sound shinobi, panting heavily. He was flanked by Ino and Choji, both equally tired. Behind them was an injured and exhausted Sakura, her hair chopped short and body and face full of bruises, as well as an unconscious Naruto and Sasuke lying on their backs behind Sakura. Both were out cold, their bodies littered with dirt but strangely, no bruising. From a strange mark on Sasuke's neck, purple chakra was seeping out, lending the situation a creepy vibe. Lee was also unconscious and hurt, lying a little ways away from Sakura.

Sakura was mentally and physically exhausted. After they fought the creepy guy that called himself Orochimaru that beat Naruto and bit Sasuke, causing both to fall unconscious, Sakura had been left to protect her teammates on her own. Just as the kunichi had managed to drag both her teammates into a clearing and laid them comfortably on the ground, they'd been attacked by a team of sound shinobi. Sakura had fought with all her strength, but even so, if not for the interference of first Lee and then team 10, she doubted she would have made it, nevermind protected her helpless teammates.

The pink-haired girl gave a shuddering sigh, as she watched the struggling team 10 with worried eyes. The sound shinobi were ruthless. Ino had taken over one of their bodies, only for the sound ninja to ruthlessly hurt their own teammate to get to Ino. And it worked.

Sakura's eyes were starting to tear up, watching the friends that had come to their rescue, risking their own lives.

Shikamaru had just grabbed hold of Ino who had suffered a backlash steadied himself, gritting his teeth, preparing for the next attack. The leading sound ninja made a move to charge at them, kunai raised to kill, but before he reached them he suddenly froze, his gaze shooting to the two shinobi that suddenly landed on a tree branch on the edge of the clearing.

"That chakra..."

All the genin present followed his gaze to Tenten and the young Hyuga, whose pale eyes were ferocious, the veins around them pronounced. Tenten and Neji had just arrived at the clearing, following after their teammate Lee who had completely irresponsibly ran off on his own earlier. The sound ninja looked at them and stuttered.

"Those eyes... he's not just looking at us, he's seeing through us!"

Neji's gaze quickly moved towards the unconscious Lee before he fixed his gaze back at the enemy shinobi, silently yet quickly judging the situation at hand. The young Hyuga was silent for a moment, before making his decision and sending an order at Tenten.

"No time to play around. Tenten, full power!"

Immediately following his command, Tenten reached for her scroll, ready to call out her entire barrage of weapons when she noticed Neji freeze. She couldn't help but stop, and look at her teammate with questioning eyes. Then she looked back down at the enemy shinobi and the unconscious Lee, the confusion dancing in her gaze. Sneaking a glance back at her handsome teammate, Tenten hesitantly asked.

"Neji? What wrong?"

The Hyuga's eyes, still activated, were staring with a frightening intensity at the ground. Following his gaze, Tenten raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Is that... Sasuke?"

The purple chakra that had been simply seeping out of his neck before was out right pouring now. The chakra steadily gathering around him, it's mere amount enough to incite fear. But that was not the main reason that was making people stare.

The chakra, it was slowly changing.

From a seeping, sick purple color with slight tinges of yellow, into a much more slow-moving, almost deceitful black. Wisps of purple chakra turned into darkness that created a thin layer on his body, creeping over Sasuke's skin like shadows. The black seemed to cover his whole body, like a cloud. Afterwards, wherever the purple chakra touched his skin, the black mist shot out and enveloped the chakra, devouring it. The Hyuga watched, his eyebrows tightly furrowed.

Just what is that?! It seems like some kind of chakra but...

Still not.

It's eating it. That black matter... it's eating it. The other chakra.

Completely devouring it.

The sound shinobi, who were stranding with their back turned towards Sasuke, were unaware of what was going on. Impatient, the lead sound shinobi huffed.

"Well, are you just going to stand up there all day? Or are you coming down here and doing something!"

Tenten sneered at them, her hand still at her pouch, ready to pull out her scroll at any minute. The girl turned her head slightly, looking at Neji for confirmation. But Neji just gave the sound shinobi a suspicious look, and then his lips quirked into a smirk as he lowered his hands into a casual stance, gesturing Tenten to do the same.

"Well actually, it looks like it might have been taken out of my hands."

Tenten sighed and followed Neji's example, although still slightly confused. Even team 10 was looking at their fellow leaf genin with questioning eyes.

The sound shinobi also gave a confused look, but seconds later a wave of wind shot out, throwing everyone off their feet. Shikamaru instantly dragged his teammates into the bushes, watching from a safe distance. Sakura was flung back a few meters.

After getting their bearings back, every single person on sight did one thing. They all turned their gazes, staring wide-eyed at Sasuke.

Enveloped in a cloud of black, the beautiful youth slowly stood up. His every movement was devoid of any noise, seeming almost imaginary in its smoothness and etheralness. Straightening his back and tilting his head upwards, Sasuke's black hair softly slid from his face, revealing pale smooth skin, free of blemishes or bruises of any kind.

And then, the crimson eyes snapped open.

Looking around, the completely silent teen calmly took in the unconscious Naruto, badly beaten up Sakura, as well as their fellow leaf genin, who were all in different stages of hurt. In the end, his eyes drifted back to Sakura. The mellow, deep voice sounded softer than any of them had ever heard it.

"Sakura... who did this to you?"

Sakura stared, wide eyed, as Sasuke's eyes scanned her, closely marking down every injury. She was overcome with all kinds of emotions, unable to say a single word. Happiness, worry, confusion and most of all, relief. But even when she didn't answer, one of the sound shinobi was so kind as to openly accept responsibility. A sound ninja with completely no redeeming features, a common mob-character, gave a crazed, proud grin and loudly proclaimed.

"That would be me!"

Sasuke froze for a mere second, before turning to the ninja in question. All who were watching were holding their breaths, waiting for notorious Uchiha's reaction.

But Sasuke surprised them all. His expression turned into a never-before seen grin, malicious intent leaking out of it. The grin was blood thirsty and excited, simply begging for a victim to pummel. And one had just presented itself at his feet. Sasuke's eyes widened, sharingan swirling, as he muttered through smiling lips.

"Well, that's very mature of you. Taking responsibility like that..."

Sasuke turned to face the shinobi, his eyes expressing a lively excitement, his grin widening. His expression looked like that of a child's.

Only difference, his expression was much more malicious.

The deep, smooth voice sounded again, displaying undertones of excitement never before heard exciting the Uchiha's lips.

"Ren."

There was a moment of complete silence, before darkness exploded from Sasuke. Black markings started forming on his skin, running from the corners of his eyes downwards, like tear tracks. His eyes grew darker, the sharingan gaining a barely discernible purple tint in the sea of red. Shadows danced on the ground around his feet, from time to time stretching into the air like arms of the damned seeking the light.

Enemy and comrade alike stared, transfixed by the sight. Sasuke fixed his eyes, which were now holding a completely new aura of sinister power, on the poor mob-character who had dared to lay a finger on his comrade.

The two remaining sound shinobi felt a shudder down their spine and the leader's eyes widened. He turned to his comrade to order an immediate retreat, but was too late. The other sound ninja, feeling the killing intent directed towards him, instantly raised his hands and started making handsigns.

"Haha, you think you can beat me, kid?! Just watch, I'm going to destroy you all in one fell swoop!"

Finishing his handsigns, the shinobi gave a confident smirk and loudly shouted.

"SUPER SONIC SLICING BLADE!"

A powerful sonic blast immediately erupted from his hands, obliterating everything in front of it. Watching the blast digging into the ground and felling trees, the shinobi smirked, relieved and fell to his knees, exhausted. Such a powerful jutsu, it was needless to say required an enormous amount of chakra. But before get could get comfortable, the leader's shout made the ninja instantly look back up.

"Zaku!"

But it was too late. The sound ninja couldn't even react before e was lifted of the ground, a tight grip on his neck. The ninja lifted his hands to his neck to wrestle the hand off him, but to his horror, found that nothing was there. Looking around with frantic eyes, his gaze soon landed on a dark figure a ways away. The black-haired boy with the markings on his face was standing there, his team behind him, all completely untouched by the earlier jutsu. The sonic wave had completely demolished their surroundings, but there was a clear line not even a meter from Sasuke where the damage came to an abrupt stop. Sasuke's hand has in front of him, shaped as if he was grabbing something, his fist slowly squeezing.

Feeling his air being completely cut off, the sound ninja once again tried to reach for the hands holding his throat in panic, only to once again find nothing there. His eyes looked hack at the youth who's hand was in mid-air, slowly tightening around nothing. The sound ninja's eyes expressed absolute terror.

The crushing fear of death.

Sasuke watched the sound ninja struggle helplessly, wriggling like a fish, his eyes desperate as he tried to pry the force choking him away.

But you cannot touch darkness.

Eyes fascinated, Sasuke slowly tightened his grip on the air, and saw the ninja's face turn blue.

So effortless. So easy.

Honestly, Sasuke felt surprised.

Just one squeeze... and he'll die.

So this is what power feels like.

It's an addictive feeling. Barely needing to slightly move your fingers, and the other party would die.

Power is an addictive thing.

Power is poison.

Sasuke froze slightly, but his lips gave the slightest of gentle smiles.

What do you mean Ren?

Power corrupts.

Plus, like all addictive things, it's going to make you dependent. Unable to live without it.

Sasuke let out a slight sigh.

Yes, I know. Don't worry, I'm not going to rely on you forever. I'm going to get my own power.

Looking back at the dying ninja still suspended in the air, Sasuke raised his hand, preparing to end it.

But for now...

"Wait!"

Sasuke's hand froze. Slowly, his gaze drifted to the leader of the sound-team, who was looking at Sasuke with obvious fear in his eyes.

"I'll make you a deal."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the ninja as he slowly reached into his pouch and brought out an earth-scroll. Holding it out for everyone to see, the sound shinobi told Sasuke in a quiet voice.

"I'll give you our scroll. In return, let us go."

Sasuke looked on as the shinobi slowly bent down, and placed the scroll on the ground before retreating, an obvious sign of a peace offering. Considering, Sasuke glanced at Sakura to judge her thoughts on it all. Meeting the kunoichi's frightened gaze, Sasuke couldn't help but be slightly startled. Sakura's eyes were flicking between his hand and the choking, passed out shinobi with fear and tears.

She's afraid.

Sasuke realized.

Of me.

But the moment he thought it, Sasuke heard a snort in his mind.

Yah, right! Maybe she's slightly afraid, but she'd never even think to consider you anything but perfect! She way too far gone, you lady-killer...hmpf!

Sasuke contained a snort as he looked back at the sound ninja, and gave a curt nod. He released his fist and immediately, the other sound ninja dropped from the air, desperately gasping air into his lungs. The leader of the sound-team went up to him and threw the ninja over his shoulder before walking over to their other unconscious teammate, grabbing her under an arm. Turning to leave, the sound shinobi suddenly turned his head back.

"It would seem that we underestimated you, but at least we found out what we needed to know... For the moment, we're even. But, if it should happen that we ever meet in combat again, I promise you. We will neither run nor hide."

As he turned back around to walk away, he was stopped yet again, but this time by Sakura.

"Wait!"

The sound ninja stopped and looked back at the kunoichi that had called him, impatiently waiting for her to spit it out. Sakura's eyes moved over the curse mark on Sasuke's neck, following to the darkness that was surrounding him, and her expression hardened.

Cei sighed in Sasuke's mindscape.

This girl is totally misunderstanding something...

"Who is this Orochimaru anyway?! What's he done to Sasuke?!?! And why Sasuke?!?!?!"

The sound shinobi's eyes also momentarily drifted to Sasuke before he sighed.

"I don't know. All I know is that we were told to target Sasuke Uchiha, and we did. I don't know why he sent us to assassinate someone on who he'd bestowed such powers. I don't know why Sasuke even survived the curse mark. There are many things... I don't know."

Having said that, the sound shinobi simply left with his teammates, never once looking back.

After they were gone, Shikamaru and his team ran out of the bushes, Ino rushing to help Sakura while Shikamaru and Choji went to wake Naruto. Tenten jumped down to get Lee, while Neji remained on the tree branch, watching Sasuke with wary eyes.

That chakra...that power, it was different. I didn't know the Uchiha clan was this strong.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had his attention on the voice in his mind.

Hey Ren... That "Orochimaru" person Sakura was talking about?

There was a suspicious pause before his question was answered, making Sasuke raise an eyebrow in question.

Well....She meant Oreopedo. I think, she might have misheard when Oreodepo introduced himself... hehe~

Sasuke sweatdropped, feeling slightly suspicious of what Ren was saying, but wasn't going to question the giant black phoenix. Giving a slight, slight smile, Sasuke sent the bird a thought.

Well anyway. Thanks, Ren.

The black mist surrounding Sasuke receded, seeping into his skin. His eyes turned back to normal, while the markings at the corners of his eyes receded, reverting Sasuke back to normal. Sasuke looked down at himself, already slightly missing the safe feeling he got, being surrounded by shadows.

Sure thing, fam!

Sasuke smirked slightly at the bird's sassy response.