Chapter 7: Not What She Seems

Nue's POV

It's been three weeks since Orochimaru and Kabuto came to visit. They didn't come back after my birthday. It kind of gave me suspicions though. I mean, I know they must have done something to make Okaa-san hate them. But how did Orochimaru know it was my birthday?

I had a lot of questions that I wanted answered. I sighed to myself. "Hey, what's the matter? You've been quiet for a long time now." Iri noticed, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Hmm? Oh, it's nothing." I said, going back to the book I was reading.

I was in Iri's room while she was behind me, brushing my hair. "Oh, come on. There's something obviously on your mind." She said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you've been staring at the same page for the past ten minutes."

"...So?"

"So, tell me what's on your mind?"

"Are you going to keep bugging me until I tell you?"

"If that's what it takes. There. All done!"

 Iri set the brush down and handed me a mirror so I could examine my hair. It didn't look much different, but at least it looked decent. All Iri really did was straighten it out. "Thanks." I said to her. She gave a smile and went to her shelf to get a board game.

She came back and set a chessboard down in front of me. I helped her set up the game. "Ne, Onee-chan." I asked. "Hmm?" She looked up at me. "Is Orochimaru-san... bad?" I asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, when I went downstairs, I saw Okaa-san holding her sword up to his neck. Did he say something to upset her?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. But you see, Orochimaru and Mother aren't exactly friends."

Once the game was set up, we began to play. "So, then why did he decide to come visit?" I asked as I moved my chest piece. "Beats the hell out of me. But I know he came here for a reason. I just wanna know why." Iri replied, taking my pawn.

I sighed as I moved my knight. "Onee-chan, if Okaa-san and Orochimaru-san met before, what did Orochimaru-san do to make Okaa-san hate him so much?" I asked her.

Her hand stopped halfway when she was about to move her knight. She didn't say anything as she frowned at the chess board, her white bangs somewhat covering her eyes. "Onee-chan?" I asked. Iri didn't respond. She just remained quiet.

"Never mind. Forget I asked." I said. "Nue," She finally said. "Hmm?" I answered.

She looked at me and blinked her heterochromia eyes. "Tell me, what do you think of Orochimaru. Be honest." She said as she took my knight. "He seems nice. I like him." I said, giving a closed eye smile. I remember how nice Orochimaru was being when he gave me Kiyoshi.

But his chakra felt cold and dark. Except, that wasn't the thing that concerned me. What concerned me was that image I had when I hugged Orochimaru. What did it mean? I shook my head, trying to forget about it.

"Say what?! You just met the guy and you already like him?! You don't even know him!"

The tone of her voice made me jump slightly as I closed my eyes. "I know that. But I think we can be friends one day. Besides, he didn't seem so dangerous. He was actually pretty nice." I said, smiling nervously as my eyes were still closed

"That's what he wants you to think!"

"What do you mean?" I opened my eyes to look at her.

"When I was five, he came to our house to visit. I didn't trust him the moment I made eye contact with that bastard. Whenever Mother wasn't around, he would always watch me when I trained. He ticked me off so many times. Hell, he even tried getting on my good side. But it didn't work,"

She grabbed a pocky stick and put it in her mouth, half of it sticking out of her mouth. "Then one day, I heard Mother scream when I was training with Julia and Sharon," She continued. 

"We found Mother clutching her neck and that snake freak standing over her, watching her pain. So, we kicked his snake ass out. I never thought he'd come back. I thought I'd never have to see that asshole again." She explained.

"Well, maybe he's changed. I mean, everyone changes every now and then, right?" I said, making my next move until Iri grabbed my wrist. I shot her a confused look. "Where did you get this?" She demanded as she looked at Kiyoshi.

He was wrapped around my arm, watching me play chess with my sister. "This is Kiyoshi. Orochimaru-san gave him to me as a birthday present." I explained as I smiled at my new pet. "When?" She demanded.

"While I was in the training room." I answered. "I see," Iri let go of my wrist before smirking as swiped my queen. "Checkmate!" she yelled.

"Dammit!" I yelled, flipping the chess board over, making the chess pieces fly everywhere. Iri laughed at my temper. "You did that to distract me!" I said, pointing an accusing finger at her. "That's riiight~." She sang, getting up to collect the chess pieces.

I got up with a sigh and helped her. I picked up a few pieces that were laying near the closet while Kiyoshi slithered off my arm, down my side, and went under the bed. A moment later, he came out with two chess pieces in his mouth.

"Thank you, my slithery friend." I thanked him. He hissed in response. We both began putting the pieces back on the board. I looked around the room and noticed Iri was no longer in the room. "Stay here, Kiyoshi." I ordered. Kiyoshi nodded and wrapped himself up like a coil of rope.

'Amazing. He's really obedient. I wonder if Orochimaru has already trained him?' I thought. I got up and went to see if Iri was hiding somewhere. Iri had a habit of toying with me. She likes to hide and pretend she's not there. Only to make me cry and scream for her.

Not to mention, she can be a pervert sometimes and will constantly annoy the hell out of me. But I was only 6 at that time, so I'm over it. Well, sort of. I opened the closet door to see if she was hiding in there.

"Iri!" I called out. No answer.

"Iri?" I tried again. Still, no answer.

"Iri, come on. Stop messing with me!" I called into the closet. I frowned and closed the closet door, realizing she wasn't in there. I walked back to where I left Kiyoshi. I was halfway there until I got tackled to the bed. I gasped and shut my eyes.

I began to squirm and wriggle out of whoever's grasp. I don't even wanna know who has me pinned? Or do I? I opened my eyes, but no one was there. Then, why the hell can't I get up? I tried getting up again, but I stayed pinned to the bed.

"You have to try harder than that if you want to get up." A voice said. I looked around the room, trying to find the person who said that. "Looking for someone, Nue?" The voice said. "Who's there?" I demanded.

"Really? You don't recognize my voice?"

I used one of my tails to try and grab onto something. Surprisingly, my tail did touch something. I raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What the hell?" I said out loud. I used my tail again and it wrapped around something. "Recognize me yet?" The voice whispered in my ear.

I gasped slightly at the voice. "Iri?" I said. Then, out of nowhere, Iri appeared on top of me. "Surprise to see me, imouto?" She asked with a smile on her face. "Get the hell off of me!" I shouted at her. "Don't use bad language, Nue!" She shot back.

"Then, stop saying them in front of me! How the hell are you this strong, and how did you do that?" I asked. "First of all, it's because I'm stronger than you. Second, I used the Invisibility Jutsu. You should knowbecause I taught it to you when you were 8." She explained.

"Well, excuse me for not remembering," I said, sarcastically while rolling my eyes. "Now get off me!"

"Not until you admit I'm stronger than you." Iri said.

"No way!"

"Okay. Then, I guess I have to keep you like this until you say it."

"If Okaa-san, Julia, or Sharon walked in here and saw us like this, their gonna think this is rape." I informed her.

"Then, I'd hurry up and say it before they walk in here and think that."

"Not a chance."

"Say it."

"No."

"Yes."

"Why?" I asked her.

She leaned down so she was near my ear. "Because you know it's the truth. Not to mention, I love you, Nue." Iri whispered before licking my ear. My face went red and I began to struggled under her weight.

"That's disgusting! Get off me, Iri!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"No."

"Yes... Hey, wait a second!"

She dropped her guard. The moment she did, I used my wings and tails to push her off me. She fell off the bed and landed on the floor, giggling. "I'm going out for a bit." I told her. I walked out of the room, leaving her on the floor. I went back to my room and grabbed my brown cloak.

I wrapped my wings and tails around me before putting the cloak on. I went downstairs and saw Sharon by the door. "Hi, Sharon." I greeted. She turned around and smiled. "Where are you off to this evening, Nue-sama?" She asked me.

"I'm just going into town for a small walk." I answered. "Would you like me to go with you?" She asked. "No, that's quite all right. I just need some air. Trust me, I'll be fine." I said, giving her a reassuring smile. She sighed and patted my head.

"I shall inform Luna-sama, then. Please be safe, Nue-sama." She said. "Don't worry, I will." I replied. She smiled then left. I went out the door and headed towards the village. When I sensed a few people ahead, I pulled down my hood so no one could see me.

I had the hood pulled over my eyes; I could see them, but they couldn't see my eyes. All they could see was part of my face. I went inside a store and saw a woman with blonde hair tied in a ponytail, orange eyes, wore blue skinny jeans with a yellow top along with a blue apron.

She put down the magazine she was reading when she saw me. "Hi. Welcome to Sara's Sweets and All." She said, smiling at me. Sweets and All? "I take it you're Sara." I said, raising an eyebrow. "That's right. What's your name, honey?" She asked me.

"My name's Nue. It's nice to meet you." I said, taking off my hood and giving a small bow.

"Well, Nue, what can I get ya?"

"I would like some dango sticks please."

"How many?"

"Just six, please."

"All right."

She went under the counter and pulled out a small bag with dangos in it. "Here you go, sweetie." She said handing me the bag. I gave her the money and thanked her. "Please come again!" She called as I went out the door.

I pulled my hood back over my head then made my way back to the castle. Halfway to the castle, I heard a twig snap. I turned my head to see where the sound came from. "Who's there?" I called. There was no answer.

"Come out. I know you're there. I can feel your chakra." I said, frowning. "Well, aren't we a smart little kitten." A voice said. A man stepped out from behind a tree. He had dark hair and dark eyes.

I took a look at his headband. He was from the Hidden Stone Village. "What do you want?" I demanded. "A little kitten like yourself shouldn't be on the roads alone. Why don't we go back to my place and I'll call your parents?" He said, smirking.

I took a step back as he took a step closer. I already know this trick. Iri has told me a million times what men would do when they see a lost girl walking around by themselves. Well, I'm not lost and I'm not little.

Okay, technically, I am little. But not that little. Sure, Iri's taller than me, but I'm not a little girl. I'm 12."Go take a hike, sicko!" I yelled. I abandoned the small bag of dangos and made a run for it. He started to chase after me.

I jumped into the trees and began to jump from tree to tree. When I was about to jump to another tree, I felt pain in the back of my shoulder. I fell face first into the ground. I reached behind me and pulled out a kunai knife.

"Dammit." I muttered. I stood up and turned around only to get punched in the face. I landed on the ground and was kicked in the stomach. I rolled away and coughed as I got on my hands and knees. He pulled me by my hair and smirked at me.

I took the opportunity to stab his arm with the kunai knife he threw at me. He cried out in pain, making me smirk. But he kept a tight grip on my hair. He threw me on the ground and began to kick and stomp on me repeatedly.

I cried out in pain when I felt a kunai knife stab my arm. Blood ran down my arm as I tried getting up again. But the man stomped his foot on my head, keeping me on the ground. "Are you gonna behave now?" He taunted.

But I could barely hear him. Everything around me began to fade to black. My stomach hurt and I felt dizzy. I was losing consciousness fast. "Help... me." I whispered. "I was waiting for you to say those words."

I blinked when I felt something snap inside me.

Iri's POV

I was jumping from tree to tree, trying to find Nue. Mother didn't like the idea of Nue going into town on her own, so she asked me to go look for her. I continued to jump from tree to tree until I heard a cry. I looked around to find out where the cry came from.

I jumped a little further, but stopped when I saw a man standing on someone's head. I jumped down behind a tree and masked my chakra. I took a closer look at the person who was on the ground. The person was wearing a brown cloak.

I gasped when I recognized the figure. It was Nue! What should I do?! What should I do?! I can't get in there and fight him myself. There's no way I'll win. Mother! I'll go get her! I teleported back to the castle and found Mother drinking coffee.

She jumped when she saw me. " Iri, what are you doing here? I told you to look after Nue." She said. "Mother, Nue's in trouble!" I informed. Mother's eyes went wide with worry. "Where is she?" She demanded.

"Follow me." I ran out the door with Mother behind me. I couldn't teleport back to Nue because it took up a lot of my chakra. Plus, it would take even more chakra to teleport back there with someone with me. It started to rain as we ran.

We ignored it and kept running. We continued to run into the woods to where Nue was. We were halfway to where she was until I stopped. "Iri, what's wrong?" Mother asked. I didn't answer. I felt a little uneasy.

There was a strong chakra presence. It felt familiar, but it also felt dark and cold. "Iri?" Mother repeated. I shook my head. "It's nothing. Come on, we gotta get to Nue!" I said and began to run again.

When we finally reached Nue, we gasped in horror. We saw Nue standing over her attacker, her back turned to us. She was holding something in both of her hands. In one hand, she had her blood-covered katana, but I couldn't see what she was holding in her other hand.

I took a small step forward to get a closer look at what she was holding. My eyes went wide with horror when I saw what it was. She was holding her attacker's head! Nue had a tight grip on his hair as blood dripped from the neck of the head.

Nue's chakra was different as well. It felt dark. It wasn't like her usual chakra. Her cloak was a bit torn, almost revealing her wings and tails. "Nue?" My mother whispered. Nue didn't respond. "Nue?" She repeated, a little louder this time.

I took another step forward, trying to get to my imouto. I stopped when she turned her head slightly. She turned around slowly and faced us. Nue had blood on her face, but it wasn't hers. It looked like she didn't have a scratch on her; It was as if her attacker never touched her.

She didn't say anything. She just stared at us. I heard my mother gasp. I did as well. Nue's eyes weren't red like they should be. They were glowing a bright, purple color. She looked at us emotionlessly.

Nue dropped the head she was holding and began to walk toward us. Mother and I took a step back. "Nue, it's us. Iri and Mother." I said her. I realized she still had her katana in her hand. "Nue, put the katana down." My mother said, trying to sound demanding.

But her voice was a bit shaky. My imouto didn't respond. She continued to walk towards us with her weapon in hand. "Nue, it's me, Iri." I said, trying to reason with her. Nue was almost at arm's length.

"Nue, listen to me. Don't you recognize me? It's your mother." She said, taking a fighting stance. Nue stopped in her tracks. "Okaa... san..?" She whispered. Nue dropped her katana and looked at Mother. "Okaa-san." She repeated.

Her purple eyes faded back into her crimson red ones. I saw Nue about to collapse until Mother quickly caught her before she could make impact with the ground. I ran over to them and kneeled by my imouto's side.

"Okaa-san... What... am I to you?" She whispered to my mother. "You are my daughter, Nue." Mother answered, moving some hair off her face. "I'm a monster." She said emotionlessly. I hugged my imouto, trying to comfort her.

"You're not a monster. You're my sister and you're part of our family." I said. "And we love you." My mother added, hugging my imouto as well. Nue closed her eyes and sighed softly. I hugged her tightly.

Mother picked her up bridal style and we started to run home. By the time we got to the castle, we were drenched from the rain and Nue was asleep in Mother's arms, exhausted. She was somewhat soaked because Mother tried to shield her from most of the rain.

I saw Julia and Sharon waiting for us by the door. "Milady, are you all right?" Sharon asked with worry. "Yes," My mother answered, walking through the door. I followed her. "Julia, take Nue to her room and put her in some warm clothes. I don't want her to catch a cold." My mother said.

"Hai." Julia responded before taking Nue from Mother's arms. She took her to her room while Mother sat on the couch. I sat in a chair across from her. "Milady, what happened out there?" Sharon asked. Mother sighed, but didn't say anything.

"Milady?" Sharon repeated. "I need to know... I need to know how this happened." My mother said. "Mother, she... that girl... it wasn't Nue. That wasn't my imouto. Who was that just now? There's no way that could've been Nue." I asked her.

She didn't respond. She just stared out into space. "Mother, how come Nue didn't have a scratch on her when she was clearly hurt? Why were Nue's eyes glowing like that?" I asked. Again, no response. I sighed.

"I'm going to bed." I informed her. "Goodnight, Iri." Mother said, walking to her office. I went upstairs to Nue's room. I passed Julia and she bowed. I gave her a nod and continued to Nue's room. I opened the door to her room and saw her sound asleep.

I saw one of her wings twitch a little. Why do they do that? I went by her bed and got down on my knees. I noticed her snake sleeping on one of her pillows next to her head. I ran my fingers through Nue's long black hair.

She opened her eyes a little so she was looking at me. "Onee-chan?" She whispered. "It's all right, Nue. Go back to sleep." I told her. She closed her eyes again, then rolled over, going back to sleep.

I narrowed my eyes at Kiyoshi. I didn't trust this snake. Mostly, because he was given to Nue by Orochimaru. I stood up and left Nue's room, closing the door behind me. 'What sort of life has Nue lived? What has she done in her past?' I thought as I walked down the hall to my room.

'What caused her to go... insane? Will it happen again?' So many questions I wanted answered. So much happened today. I opened the door to my room and changed into my pajamas. 'If Orochimaru has anything to do with this, I'll kill him' I thought.

I gritted my teeth with the thought of him in my mind. I climbed into bed and stared at my bat-covered ceiling. 'I will protect her if it's the last thing I do. There's no way I'm letting anythign happen to my sister' That was the last thought I had until I drifted off to a deep sleep.

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Ta-da! What do you think? Nue's kekkai genkai had been revealed! I had a hard time writing this due to schoolwork. Anyway, vote and comment if you wish to see more.

Kureiji out~