Fallen (ItachixOC)

Chapter Fourteen

第十四章

The next day Miyako stealthily followed Sasuke to the Forty-Fourth Training Ground (which also happened to be known as The Forest of Death). She watched as Mitarashi Anko – a sadistic Jōnin with purple hair who worked in the Torture and Interrogation Unit – explained the exam, and then as some pre-academy kids came to do interviews for the Academy Newspaper.

Miyako watched as Anko gave out some consent forms – which the prospective chūnin's had to sign to say that they accepted the fact that they could die and the Konohagakure was not to be blamed for their death. Once the teams signed the forms, they got their scrolls and went to their assigned gates.

Miyako waited for the teams to have been in The Forest of Death for one hour and thirty minutes before following after Team Seven. She easily located Team Seven, sensing their chakra and thoughts to guide her way to them. She found Naruto first, stuck inside a giant snake that she suspected was a summoning. Miyako went to get Naruto out, but stopped when the snake burst, blood, guts, and shadow clones shooting out of it and around the clearing.

"Oh Gods, that's gross," Miyako muttered in disgust before jumping in front of Naruto.

Naruto, who was still freaked out about being eaten by a giant snake, attacked Miyako with a punch. The Jōnin easily dodged the attack and held Naruto's fist when he moved to attack her again. When Naruto recognised the teen in front of him, he stopped, relaxing a little bit.

"You're Sakura-chan's cousin, right?" Naruto questioned the teen.

"That's right," Miyako nodded. "Where are your teammates?" Worry was starting to fill her as she started to have a hard time locating the duo.

"I don't know," Naruto muttered before his blue eyes widened. "I was separated from them, swallowed by this giant snake. We have to find them!"

Miyako nodded in agreement, not liking the feeling that something was wrong sitting in her gut. She gestured for the genin to follow her as she still had a slight sense on the whereabout of the two missing genin.

Naruto and Miyako shot through the forest, spotting the duo standing in fear on a branch. Naruto overheard Sasuke giving up the scroll and jumped ahead of a surprised Miyako, snatching the scroll from the air. Miyako sighed as she jumped next to Naruto, Sasuke's onyx eyes widening as Sakura cheered in relief at the sight of her cousin.

"Mi-chan!" Sakura exclaimed, grinning as she felt hope fill her at the thought of being safe from the Grass genin in front of them.

"Miyako," Sasuke muttered, hope also filling his chest at the sight of his guardian.

Miyako ignored the two brightly dressed genin and face the Grass genin, reaching into her mind, only to hear a male voice.

'A Jōnin? What's she doing here? My plan has just become more complicated.'

Miyako frowned. "Orochimaru, I presume?"

The Grass-nin let out a smirk. "You saw through my disguise. And quite easily at that. How is that? You're too young to remember me."

"The how doesn't matter. What matters is what are you planning on doing to Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyes widened at Miyako's statement. He never understood it, but he knew she had an uncanny ability to guess what one was thinking. Sometimes he thought she had the ability to read minds, though he was sure that that was an ability that was impossible.

"You even know what I'm here for. Interesting," Orochimaru replied, looking the girl up and down in interest. "If I didn't know any better, I would've said you were a Shinjitsu Clan member. But they're supposably extinct."