Caught in the Darkness

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: The Snake Must Be Gone

Hanako pressed her hand against her side. Her chest was burning as she panted heavily. There were still traces of poison in her blood, and they were slowly acting out. She had reached the forest in record time, but she was still worried. She didn't know what to do, or where did the poison come from. Hanako knew for sure, though, that Kabuto had something to do with it. He said so himself: "Now I'm going to kill you, finish the job the poison didn't finish."

But, where was the poison? What did she drink? What did she eat? No food had a bitter taste, not that she remembered anyway; or maybe she had just been too hungry to care.

Maybe it wasn't something she had consumed, she considered with pressed lips. And that's when it hit her, the eye drops. Kabuto must have been the one who prepared them, and he decided to add a light touch of poison just to mess with her. The poison hadn't originally meant to kill her, but to suffocate her long enough for him to strike. It just acted in the wrong timing. But it acted, so he knows that she used the eye drops. He knows she is desperate to find a cure. He knows she is almost blind and thus weak.

She shouldn't have used them. She should have thrown them away the moment she got them. But she didn't, and now she was paying the consequences.

Hanako fell on her knees and broke into a coughing fit. She covered her mouth, feeling as if she were coughing her insides out. When she stopped, she pulled away and looked at her hand. Her eyes widened in horror, it was covered in blood. Her blood.

"Guess it's worse than I had expected," she muttered to herself as she wiped her hand on her hospital clothes.

"It kind of is..." There was a voice behind Hanako, and the girl looked over her shoulder for it. Miyu was there, with a squared man behind her. His messy brown hair framed his defined face. His hooked nose shadowed his fine lips as the sunlight hit his back, lining him in gold like if he were her salvation.

"Doku..." Hanako muttered. "What are you doing here?" But she knew he wasn't going to answer her.

Instead, Miyu spoke. "I followed you. After you left, I was curious to know what were you up to. And I came here, Doku was with me. He didn't have anywhere else to go and he didn't want to stay with Orochimaru so he came with me. He's the one who's making my flowers poisonous." Miyu glared at her male companion but he just shrugged, making some signs with his hands.

It's just a safety measure, he signaled.

"Yeah, right. Hanako and Kai are the only ones who have ever found us," said Miyu. Doku shook his head, but he didn't signal anything else. Doku was mute, born that way. His vocal chords never formed, so he couldn't even produce a slight sound.

He approached the Uchiha and placed a hand over her head. Hanako closed her eyes as she felt a warmth that spread from her head to her chest and slowly covered her entire body. Doku could control poison. He could make it more toxic than it originally was or, in the other hand, he could turn it to vital proteins. There wasn't a poison immune to Doku's abilities, and there isn't a single person who has managed to create an antidote for one of Doku's poisons. He is the only one who could cure a poisoned person.

When Hanako opened her eyes again, she felt revitalized. She didn't feel tired anymore and her chakra was flowing normally again. Her chest heaved as she breathed and didn't constrict her. She smiled. "Thanks," she muttered, standing up.

Doku helped her and smiled back. He was the most loyal of all Genso members, he would risk everything to help a friend in need. Miyu smiled too, "You really do need our help, don't you?"

But Hanako would never admit to it, and the blonde knew that. "Why were you curious about me?" she asked instead.

Miyu shrugged. "You seemed so fixed in knowing about Hidan. I was wondering who was that important for you to switch Heaven and Earth trying to find him."