Forbidden Skills

Alexnandru Van Gordon and Namu

Namu: I'VE GOT YOU NOW!

Alex: (confused and…scared)…You've got who?

Namu: The Friggen viewers! I KNOW YOU READ THIS! I checked out the hits and the names on our "add story" list. I know angel-boy doesn't mind if you don't review—but I do!

Alex:…First, I'm not an angel-boy. Second, what are you going to do about it?

Namu: (Evil smile…closes curtain. Struggles sound from behind until the curtains are pulled aside again and you see Alex tied to a chair, bound and gagged) Now, you have four days to review, or something bad might happen to angel-boy here. And you know what that means? No reviews—no Alex. No Alex—no story…

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

CHAPTER FIVE: The spirit of the curse

Push and shove—that's all the game was about. But neither would budge. Iruka was face to face with the masked maniac after his friend, and both appeared to be at a stand-still…hence the word 'appeared'. The man was just holding him back because he didn't want to break into a full-out battle right then and there in the room. Maybe the intruder didn't want to risk hurting his comrades. Perhaps he didn't want to risk injuring what he came for…

Well, that thought went out the window in a flash—as did Sasuke and the tall, black-haired man. With his back to his door, Iruka didn't exactly know who burst in just at that moment, but they wasted no time in tackling the larger man before he could react.

And with the glass, they took part of the frame. And with both of those they successfully drew on the attention of everyone in the room.

This was his break.

Iruka reached forward when his opponent ducked out of the two men's way. Kunai ready, he waited until the man turned back to face him before pulling his arm back and—

The enemy froze. "Holy sh—"

"Duck, Iruka!"

He barely had time to register the sound of Kakashi's voice before he hit the floor flat on his stomach. His opponent tried to kneel out of the way, but the blast of light—whatever it was—hit him with a force great enough to blow both his body and the wall with him out into the hospital yard.

Where the hell did that come from?

Oh wait…that would be his pal.

-NarutoNarutoNaruto-

God…that man could hit a person harder than a hammer could hit a nail. What did he eat? Broccoli…bananas…diet ramen? She really had no idea—but she was dying to find out. He might have sounded nice, but that last throw nearly broke her neck.

Opening her eyes slowly, not brave enough to move just quite yet, Kyoko moved her arm to reach for the small mirror tucked under her shirt. Then suddenly—

"Holy sh—"

"Duck, Iruka!"

…And a blinding white light that shoved Namu into the wall, breaking it, and sending both him and the wood out into the trees below. The man with the funky ponytail stayed frozen where he lay flat on his stomach just a few feet away from her, probably expecting a second blow.

This was her chance.

Hand closing around the small metal handle to her mirror, Kyoko pulled it up to her face just as the ponytail man turned to look at his comrade. Naturally the glint from the mirror's surface caught his eye and he couldn't help but look her way—

His body slumped to the ground and the man behind him made something that sounded like half a gasp.

"Iruka…Iruka!"

She heard him move and decided that he probably hadn't noticed she was conscious yet.

Good.

Despite the pain in her neck, she rolled over onto her back, mirror by her face, and stared straight at Hatake Kakashi. He glanced at her, then the mirror—

—and his body fell off the edge, slumping to the ground beside her.

"Sorry, cutie." She whispered, reaching toward her belt for two kunai. Good grief her neck hurt… "But so long as I possess your soul, there's nothing you can do to stop us…"

Her 'magic' mirror was something her mother created when she was a little girl. After her mother was murdered and she had her revenge on the pack of thieves that raided her, Kyoko had since used it for its true purpose—as a Soul Stealer. So long as Kyoko or someone of her bloodline consciously gripped the handle, anyone who dared to glance at the perfectly glossy surface would have their soul torn from their body and buried deep within the mirror's hidden dimension. And there was only one way to get out…

She took a moment to stare at the polished surface of each kunai before facing them with the mirror. There was something of a sparkle on each blade and the souls were transported into the weapons. All the others needed to do was get a drop of blood from anything living in the world onto the blades and the souls would be free.

Which soul held Kakashi's, however, was a mystery to her.

"Kyoko?"

It was Taiku, in adult form, standing in the doorway now. He looked over the two soulless figures before kneeling at her side, worried.

"What happened? Can you move?"

"No…" She gasped. The pain in her neck was numbing…but so was the rest of her body. "I think…I think I won't be able to follow you from here. Maybe I'll catch up later…"

"You can't." Taiku muttered. "One of the other ninja's ran into me right before I got rid of the kids. He's going to bring others with them…Where's Jin and Namu?"

"Outside…" She grumbled; eyes moving in the direction of the blown off wall. Taiku made a whistling noise and she continued. "Take Hatake Kakashi's body and these kunai. Then scram before they get here. I can take care of myself…"

"Kyoko…"

"Stop acting mushy and leave already!"

Taiku looked as though he was about to protest before someone shouted outside in the hall. People were finally wondering what all the ruckus was about…

"Fine—just don't die on us before we get rewarded for our 'job-well-done'."

She laughed and he moved toward Kakashi. Slinging him over one shoulder, Taiku grabbed the kunai, slipped them into a pouch tied to his waist, and sprinted toward the broken wall and outside just as Kyoko lifted the mirror toward her face. Someone burst into the room and—

…darkness…

-NarutoNarutoNaruto-

He knew what his men were up to. If he sat down and meditated long enough, he could see what was happening through one member's eyes. Kyoko was his choice this time. He noted everything from his team bursting into the room, to Hatake Kakashi knocking Kyoko out momentarily, to, finally, Kyoko possessing her kunai with the two souls she collected. Then her reflection came to mind before he was cut off from her permanently. She sacrificed herself up to her own mirror…

"Well done, Kyoko." Raidon mused to himself. "You were useful while you were around."

In theory, she wasn't exactly 'dead' persay, but since her soul was trapped within the mirror, chances that the ninja of the village would realize how to resurrect her for questioning were few and far between. And, if by chance the mirror shattered, Kyoko could be lost forever…

He doubted anyone from his team would be willing to save her skin, so she was practically lost forever in her mirror.

Goodbye, Kyoko. Have a wonderful afterlife.

Brushing himself up as he stood, Raidon gazed up at the darkening sky. He was situated now near the entrance to the cave the man had wandered down into earlier, and, if he listened close enough, he could hear the faint cry of a condemned soul wandering around hopelessly in the hole below. That was what probably attracted the Jounin earlier. Why the spirit of the curse passed part of its power onto Kakashi was a mystery to Raidon, but only certain people in the world fit the soul requirements to obtain such power. Seeing that the power was permanently stained on the person's soul (sometimes lingering on even into the afterlife) meant that the man couldn't simply be killed. He would have to remain alive to be of any use to Raidon.

But that was fine. Raidon had a way with words and he knew how to manipulate even the most closed-minded of men.

'He probably doesn't even know what he's capable of now.' Raidon thought to himself. From what his team reported to him earlier on in the day meant that the man couldn't even remember having the power bestowed upon him. 'This should prove to be interesting'

Well, that was fine with him. He was bored. A little fun would brighten his day.

-NarutoNarutoNaruto-

When Morino Ibiki was called down to interrogate some girl who burst into the hospital and aided a group of hoodlums in the abduction of Hatake Kakashi, Ibiki expected her to at least be conscious. She was even worse out-cold—she was as good as dead.

They didn't need to tie her up, just dropped her body onto a table in his little 'dungeon' and laid out all her weapons nearby. It wasn't anything much…save for that creepy mirror. Even he didn't like touching it. The glossy surface was somewhat murky but he swore he saw the shadow of someone behind the glass the moment he picked it. Maybe it was just his eyes…anyway (note to self—don't touch the mirror anymore).

Leaning over to see her face, he used two fingers to open one eyelid and gazed down into her pupil. It was almost none-existent. Her eyes were glossed over with the same gunk you would find on a dead-man's eyes. If not for the steady rise and fall of her chest, he'd label her dead and ask for someone of the ANBU to dispose of her body properly.

"What do we do?" His assistant asked.

Ibiki sighed. "This has something to do with that mirror. I know it…We'll have to look into it and see how we can wake this kid up for interrogation. How's Iruka?"

"He's in the same state as the girl. No one knows what to do."

"Hook him up to life-support—same as the girl. Otherwise their bodies will deteriorate before we can figure out how to revive them…By the way." Ibiki glanced side-ways at his assistant. "Does anyone know why they came after Kakashi?"

"…Not yet. But I bet it has something to do with his injuries and his lack of memory. His students don't know a thing about it."

"I hear one of them jumped out the window at the hospital. Three stories…"

The man chuckled. "He lived, but the man he took with him ran away the first chance he got. Sasuke told me he saw the wall being blown off above him a moment later. No one knows who did that, though."

Well, that was all fine and dandy. At least the kid had something interesting to tell his friends about…Must have been pretty brave to jump out a window just to get rid of a guy.

"Well, let's get to work then." Ibiki muttered. "Hand me that damn mirror…"

-A and N-

Alex: I'm sorry if this one was a bit short, but we're getting back into the habit of working on it. I finished finals, so now I don't have school in the way anymore. Yay!

Namu:…Didn't I tie you up earlier?

Alex: You did…but I escaped.

Namu: (frowns) Damn…I was really looking forward to some feedback from the viewers…