Naruto: Lost In Kishimoto [Book 1]

Chapter Thirteen: Introductions

Beth POV

Uninterested in the fight between Sasuke and Lee, I decided to stand off to the side whilst Sakura and Naruto intently involved themselves in the conflict. Sasuke was silent, concentrated on Lee's movements, refusing to pull his eyes away from him for even a moment. Naruto, expressing his obvious jealousy at the attention Sasuke was receiving, rushed at Lee. However, as the story dictated, Naruto was pushed into a wall within the first two seconds of their fight. Although, Sasuke didn't remove his gaze. His mind studying the encounter, analysing every movement, determining a strategy.

Chiming into the conflict one last time, I called over to my teammate. "Sasuke, I really don't think you should...". Immediately silenced, Sasuke threw the first punch, Lee dodging it easily.

Lee countered, easily breaking Sasuke's guard before kicking him across the hall. Sasuke was shocked at Lee's surprising power, and without taking the chance, he awakened his newly inherited Sharingan ability.

Shaking my head I continued across the other side of the hall, entering an adjoining hallway where I tried to think about the challenges that were sure to be awaiting me.

"Hello there," said a sly voice. Looking upward I saw a tall, thin, woman eyeing me curiously. She had long, sleek black hair that was dead straight, accompanied by fair skin that looked thin and stretched, like she had invested quite a lot of money in Botox. But this was the world of Naruto, this appearance was anything but natural. Then it clicked. I knew who this was, who this truly was, and at that moment my heart began to quicken and my breathing became heavy.

"Hello." I answered politely, my voice shaky.

"You are quite beautiful, aren't you?" She (or rather he) started to say, moistening her lips as she ran her serpent-like tongue across their surface. My eyes widened slightly as I backed my body more tightly into the wall behind me, hoping that somehow I would miraculously sink into its structure, allowing me a chance to escape. "However, you're quite young. Are you sure you're supposed to be here?" Her comment was snide, and truthful in many retrospects, but something about her lack of faith morphed whatever fear I possessed and changed it to anger.

My voice became stern and my body tense. My breathing returned to its normal pace and my heart rate slowed. At that moment I felt more confident. She couldn't hurt me. Not here. Not now.

"I suggest you read up a little on people's abilities before assuming they can or cannot do something. For instance, you look like a creepy puppet. Does that mean you're fragile?"

"Beautiful and fiesty. Thats a lethal combination, isn't it Beth?" I looked curiously at the woman, my eyes widening at the mention of my name.

"How do you know my name?" I asked, my curiosity peaked.

"For another time. As for now I believe you should return to check on Mr Uchiha". With that the woman turned and left, disappearing as quickly as she had appeared. I let out a breath that I hadn't realised I was holding, relief instantly washing over me. I felt slightly sick, but quickly pushed the feeling aside and took another deep breath, calming myself further. Orochimaru, in the flesh.

With that I turned and walked back towards the hall where Sasuke had been fighting Lee. As I opened the door I found that the fight was already over. Sasuke was swallowing his defeat with slight embarrassment, whilst Gai sensei was lecturing Lee, determining how much exercise he would have to do to make up for this mistake. I walked over to stand next to Sasuke, watching the two, and then tugged gently on his sleeve, gesturing him to come along with me. He followed, with Sakura and Naruto not far behind.

As we re-entered the hallway where I had just been, we kept walking until we entered a large hall-like room.

As we entered the room we were surprised to see none other then Kakashi sensei standing there waiting for us to arrive. He leaned against a desk where another shinobi sat, his expression blank. Standing up, he walked over to us, a smile appearing on his face.