When Forces Collide

The Mistress of Illusions

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

“Everything is going as planned, Mistress Shitabininaru.” A shadowy figure said as it looked over the quiet ninja village. “As you predicted, they would return as soon as they could.”

“I told you they would, and am I ever wrong?” Shitabininaru said through the earpiece. “Tell me what you have seen.

“Of course. They split up as soon as they entered the gates. I believe that they headed to their homes.” The figure flickered out and appeared on the ground. “Seiryoku and Mamushi both have beloveds in the village, in their own ninja teams if you believe that.”

“My, my this is looking to be fun.” Shitabininaru’s voice said sounding amused. “You remember the plan, don’t you?”

“As if I would forget it Mistress.” The form stood under a lantern, barely looking more than a light mist. “You can trust me.”


*~*~*~*~*

After the teams handed in their report the next day, and when they had, Tsunade summoned Orochimaru, Kakashi and his team, with the exception of Sasuke. “I have a mission for you, it’s an A-class mission.” Tsunade said. “There has been assassination attempts on the life of one of the lords in the Land of Rice Fields.” Tsunade said. “He came to us to request assistance considering that Otogakure is no longer there.” Her amused gaze locked onto Orochimaru. “He asked for a team of ninja to help him. I thought that Orochimaru should take the place of one of the Chuunins, considering that he knows the Land of Rice Fields best of all of us.”

“Why leave out Sasuke? Out of all of the Chuunin that is on Kakashi’s team, he is the most promising and also one of the strongest. Wouldn’t leaving Sakura or Naruto behind been better?” Orochimaru asked. He was ill at ease with this.

“I have a different mission for Sasuke, something that requires his abilities better.” Tsunade said. “Don’t question me further, Orochimaru, I have thought this through.” Orochimaru merely nodded. “You are to leave immediately, we have no idea when the next attack will happen.” Tsunade watched as the group left her office before allowing a little smile to grace her lips. Next she had to give Sasuke and Kurama their orders.


*~*~*~*~*

Kurama and Sasuke waited patiently for the door to the Hokage’s office to open, and they entered when they did. “Hello, boys.” Tsunade said with a smile. “I have to travel to this village.” She said pointing to a village some distance from Konohagakure. “I want the both of you to accompany me. I don’t need to be attacked while I’m travelling there and I want two, mostly, harmless looking boys to accompany me. Who better than you two? We leave first thing tomorrow. Be ready at dawn.” The two boys turned and left the room.

“Uh… Kurama-kun, can I talk to you about something?” Sasuke asked. “In private, it’s regarding…”

“It’s fine. Tsunade sent Orochimaru off on a mission with the rest of your team earlier. They’ll have left by now.” Kurama said. “Our apartment is a lot closer than your place.” Kurama gave a small smile. “I’m sure that if Orochimaru was here then he’d happily allow you to use the spare bedroom tonight.” Kurama smiled. “Just let me get a few things in for dinner first, okay?”

“I’ll help you.” Sasuke said with a smile. “What do you need?” Kurama smiled as he looked at the lists in his hands.

“Do you mind getting this list? I’ll get this one.” Sasuke took the list from Kurama. “Thank you, Sasuke-kun.” In that moment, Sasuke took a deep breath; the tone was almost identical to Orochimaru’s. “You do know where our apartment is, don’t you, or would you like to meet up somewhere?”

“No, I know where the apartment is. Naruto showed me.” Sasuke said. “Shall I see you there?” Kurama nodded as the two ninjas went on their separate errands.


It took the ninjas little time to get everything and to return to Orochimaru and Kurama’s apartment. “Thank you very much, Sasuke.” Kurama said as he started cooking. “Now what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“I… well you might find this weird but I want to talk about kitsunes.” Sasuke said. Kurama started to laugh. “What?”

“I wondered when this would come up.” Kurama said. “Which bit about kitsunes may I ask?”

“Everything be too big for you to handle?” Sasuke asked.

“I can only tell you what kitsunes from my world is like, Sasuke. From what I’ve seen here, Seiryoku is bound to be different. However what I can say is that he seems to be as protective as most kitsunes in my world are. You are his and to hell with any other that shows interest in you. Luckily I’m taken, and I doubt he’d go and fight Orochimaru and Mamushi.” Kurama said when he started to boil the noodles.

“I guess so.” Sasuke said. “You do belong to them after al. Do you think that there are more similarities between you and Seiryoku? I… I mean I like Naruto, but I’m just not sure of the kitsune.” The black eyes closed.

“Could you set the table, please?” Kurama asked as he finished preparing their meal. “As for your question, I guess that it’s possible that that Seiryoku and Youko Kurama are similar, although it is up for debate. They are different in so many way that similarities are most likely the oddity than the rule. I know that, had he not sacrificed tails to gain what he has, Youko would have had nine tails, just like Seiryoku.” Kurama served their meal. “Our different worlds has dictated the way that we grew up. Youko, just to survive, became a thief. I doubt that Seiryoku needed to do that, my reason is that he had got so large that nothing could threaten him. Their ablities have probably become modified to what they needed to do. Youko used plants because they fitted with his profession as a thief and soon it became his fighting style. From what I’ve gathered about Seiryoku he is more likely to use force, and to use everything at his disposal to get what he wants.” Kurama chuckled. “I doubt that we’d agree on which one of us is correct.”

“You and Orochimaru do?” Sasuke asked.

“We have our ups and downs, but we mostly agree, especially on subtlety.” Kurama said. ”We have both used subtlety to get what we want, Orochimaru to gather those loyal to him, and I to get treasures. Aren’t we similar?”

I guess. At least you know what attracted you to him. I still don’t know what brought me to fall in love with Naruto.” Sasuke said. “He’s everything I’m not, or taught not to be.”

“You envy his freedom, and by attaching yourself to him, you hope to have some of that freedom for yourself, at least that’s what I think attracted you to him.” Kurama said. However I believe his actions made you truly love him. Naruto is a powerful fighter, and he’d do anything to protect you, and what brought Naruto to care for you also holds Seiryoku to you too.” Kurama gave a cryptic smile. “Youko can’t deny that h has feelings for Orochimaru, considering that he was all over Mamushi.” He heard Youko’s weak protests and grinned wider. ‘You know you love them, especially Mamushi, you spent long enough flirting with him for one that dislikes the snake.’ There was a feeling of embarrassment from the Kitsune. ‘Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us.”

“Is Orochimaru like other snake demons you know?” Sasuke asked, Kurama smiled.

“I don’t know any snake demons from my world to compare him to. Snake demons in my world dislike outsiders and keep themselves cloistered away. I guess that Orochimaru isn’t like them, considering he and his demon don’t seem to care what happens, they’re too open with their plans and intentions. Either way, he’s mine.” The rest of the meal was eaten in silence before they turned in for the night.


Early the next day, Kurama and Sasuke met up with Tsunade and the moment that they approached her, the Kitsune was on edge. There was something wrong with the situation. “Sasuke, take extra care.” Kurama said. “Something isn’t right, and I can’t place my finger on what it is.” The green eyes narrowed. “I have a nasty feeling about this.”


Orochimaru suddenly came to a halt, and looked at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. “Kakashi, have you got the name of the lord we’re to protect?” Kakashi threw the scroll to Orochimaru. His eyes went wide when he read the scroll. “We need to get back to Konoha now!” He shouted, the snake taking over. “Seiryoku, both our chosen ones are in danger!” That brought a snarl from Naruto’s lips as Seiryoku took over. It was the others’ quizzical looks that made Orochimaru sigh. The name on the scroll has been dead for over six years, I should know.” Mamushi said. “I had Orochimaru kill him when he tried to stop Otogakure from being established.” The group turned and started the journey back to Konohagakure.


Tsunade led the two boys away from Konoha. Kurama still hadn’t relaxed, in fact he had got even more nervous as he still hadn’t put his finger on the problem. Then it hit him. “Tsunade-sama, where is Shizune-san?” He asked, the question bringing Sasuke and Tsunade to a halt. “Shizune decided that she wasn’t coming.” Tsunade said. That made the pair of Chuunin take u a fighting stance. “What’s the matter?”

“As if Shizune would let you go anywhere when there’s a chance that you’ll go drinking and gambling.” Kurama said. “Either she doesn’t know, or you’ve incapacitated her. You aren’t Tsunade.” ‘Tsunade’ laughed.

“Very perceptive, Minamino Shuichi.” She said. “I had hoped that you wouldn’t have noticed for a while yet, however it doesn’t matter. Even together, I doubt that you could muster up the strength and skill to defeat me. If only you played your roles properly then things wouldn’t have been taken further.” ‘Tsunade’ changed into a seven-headed bird. Each head was a different colour in the spectrum, and the body was the purest white.

“So this is your true form, Maboroshi.” Kurama said with a growl. “Prepare to taste defeat!”


“I’m sorry, but Tsunade-sama must be hiding somewhere as usual.” Shizune said. “It must be a good place as I haven’t found her yet. Why, what’s the matter?”

Orochimaru’s eyes closed. “Shizune, have you noticed anything different about Tsunade recently?” He asked.

“Now that you mention it, she hadn’t touched sake in three weeks. She hasn’t made a bet either. I thought that she had grown up finally.” Shizune said. “What do you think has happened?”

“I think that three weeks ago, Tsunade was replaced by an impostor by the name of Maboroshi. We need to get into Tsunade’s office. We need to find out where she is going with out… with Sasuke and Shuichi.” Orochimaru said. “They are very important to us.”

It didn’t take long for them to break into the office and the ninjas searched from top to bottom, not finding anything to tell them where they were going. “Where is she taking them?” Seiryoku snarled.

“I don’t know, but can’t you, you know, sniff them out or something?” Sakura said. “You are a fox after all.” A strange look crossed Naruto’s face. “What?”

“Sakura-chan, you’re a genius!” Seiryoku said, making Naruto grin like a fool.


“What do we do now?” Sasuke asked as he watched the caged bird warily. “We have her penned in, but what happens next? We can’t keep her like this forever.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” A voice asked. “You have to defeat her. It’ll be one less for the rest of us to deal with.” The two ninjas turned to face the newcomer as a slender finger pushed a pair of glasses up his nose. “If you’re going to do a job, it’s best done right.”

“Like you would know.” Kurama said as his eyes narrowed. “Just whose side are you on, Kabuto-kun?”

“The side that I’ve always been on.” Kabuto said. “My own side, the side of the five-tailed dog.”

“So, let me get this straight.” Sasuke said. “You were sent by Akatsuki to spy on Orochimaru. He freed you from mind control and had you spy on Konoha. Once back from Konoha, you turned your back on Orochimaru and rejoined Akatsuki. They were defeated and you disappeared. Now you have resurfaced once more. Who are you working for this time?”

“I told you, myself.” Kabuto said. “I want to live, and I won’t as long as the headed beasts are trying to separate my head from my shoulders. Our goals just so happen to be the same on this occasion.” He looked at the imprisoned bird. “Finish her off, it isn’t as though she can escape as you’re in a forest, is it?”


Orochimaru could smell something burning, and he wasn’t the only one. Seiryoku’s sensitive nose picked up four scents. “Yours and mine is there with two others.” Seiryoku said. “One is Maboroshi, and the other is somebody that you know well.” Orochimaru looked over at the fox. “Naruto says that his name is Kabuto.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” Orochimaru shouted. “Kabuto has never really taken to Kurama! I just hope that Sasuke can stop them from killing each other!”


The two demons hurried on ahead, worried for Sasuke and Kurama, but when they caught up the three were laughing. Kurama’s eyes caught Orochimaru’s and he laughed harder. “Kabuto was telling me more about you, Orochimaru-sama.” Kurama said as the Sannin wrapped his arms around the kitsune.

“Nothing too bad, I hope.” Orochimaru said. “I don’t need all my secrets spilled either.” He lay his head against Kurama’s, smelling the delicate scent that lay there. Rose had quickly became his favourite scent, a scent that relaxed him, especially as it was associated with the man in is arms. More precisely from when they were in bed.

“Kabuto mentioned that you once wanted children.” Kurama said quietly. “Do you still feel that way, Orochimaru?” Orochimaru’s eyes opened wider when he felt the kitsune’s arms tighten around his body. “Orochimaru?”

“I don’t know.” Orochimaru said. “I haven’t thought about children since we became involved. I guess that there is still a part of me that yearns for hem, but I don’t need them, not like I need you. He kissed Kurama’s cheek. “I don’t want anyone to get between us, which would have had to have happened for a child to be born.” Kurama dragged Orochimaru away from the others and deeper into the forest.

They came to a halt some distance away. “Orochimaru, does it really matter how the child comes into the world?” Kurama asked. “Is it really that important? Personally I believe that a child will learn more from loving parents than from their relatives if they are hateful.” He smiled as Orochimaru returned to hugging him. “However I can also see the plus side of a child born into a loving relationship. That child can’t be used as a weapon in an argument.” The kitsune closed his eyes. “It is something to think about.” His lips brushed against Orochimaru’s neck.

“It isn’t as though you can become pregnant, is it?” Orochimaru said. “So what is there to think about?” Kurama’s smile turned into a teasing smirk.

“Well I’m sure that most snakes lay eggs. I’m sure that if you want a baby that we can get one out of you one way or another.” Orochimaru moaned when Kurama teased him. “Not to your liking, darling? I thought that you wanted babies.”

“It’s not that, Mamushi just told me that it wouldn’t be as easy as laying eggs. I’d have to go through a full nine month pregnancy!” Kurama chuckled. “It’s not funny! How am I supposed to support myself, the kid and…”

“I was teasing, Orochimaru.” Kurama said. “As nice as that would be, I’m sure that there are other ways. Anyway it isn’t advisable for us to be thinking too much on children just now. We have a serious threat to contend with. I don’t want any child of ours to be brought up in danger of its life.” He heard Orochimaru’s sigh of relief. “Kabuto had something to tell us all, so we should return to the others.”


The Sannin and the kitsune returned to the group. Kabuto, finally seeing Orochimaru back started speaking. “Over the past three years, I haven’t been standing still, sitting quietly. I have been investigating into the headed demons. There was a reason why the Akatsuki’s stronghold was where it was, and that is because there is rumoured to be a gateway that opens once all the nine pillars contains either headed or tailed beasts.”

“So our venue is back at the Akatsuki base.” Orochimaru said with a growl. “That’s fine with me. We’ll seal them away once and for all.”