Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Summary: Orochimaru walks the path towards his own demise, pulling everything around him along. This path only has one ending, but along the way, unfamiliar emotions arise and Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke discover more than they had hoped for. This is my story of the three of them, as the Pupil takes over the Serpent. No pairings.
I did not know who I had to choose in the character category. It evolves around all three, the focus changes along the story.

Immortal Beloved

The Path Decided

"to fight for each minute is to
fight for what is possible within
yourself,
so that your life and your death
will not be like
theirs"
- Charles Bukowski

The forest of Otogakure was a dark green. Moist covered moss and wet wood. Sasuke was rather fond of this location. He had always preferred this hideout over the one in the rocky desert, where all the commotion with Sai and his former Team had taken place. Not only had he found that place way too warm, the temperature agonizing during his training sessions, he somehow felt more at home in a dense forest. Perhaps it was the similarity with the Forest of Death that attracted him, the beginning of his quest for power. And opposed to that time, it was now him who was feared when encountered.

Sasuke stared at the entrance of the hideout. He had always expected Orochimaru would have wanted a bigger entrance, something more obvious, something intimidating, like other hideouts had had.

He went inside and inhaled the scent of earth. The roots of the massive trees crawled all over the walls and ceiling. When he proceeded further into the complex, the halls grew less constricting and the roots disappeared. Torches illuminated the space with their warm flames. If he had not known what he knew and had not seen what he saw, he perhaps would've found the place quite peaceful.

The walk to his room was long. As always, he would not rush but tread nonchalantly over the wooden covering beneath his feet while he mused about things.

Sasuke had grown quite adjusted to Otogakure. Since he was a true insider, the place did not frighten him anymore. Any outsider shinobi, no matter how brave, would've come to this place dreading the secrets and mystery it held. Of course, there were traps, and the complex was quite easy to get lost in. Other than that, it was not a terrifying place. Apart from the occasional guard, this hideout would often seem empty. Most of the Sound shinobi who were assigned to remain at this hideout lived in small complexes in the surrounding forest. Sasuke had never seen prisoners for experiments either in this setting. Besides him, Orochimaru, Kabuto and the occasional guard or visitor, the place was mostly unpopulated.

Sometimes he mused about what horrors outsiders would imagine to be here. He had to admit that he liked being part of that mystery. It was always nice to be looked upon in awe. But no matter how dark it all seemed, and how much terrorizing fantasies people had about this place, people still lived here, and they were merely human too. There was in fact a kitchen. There were bathrooms. There were rooms for supplies.

Sasuke trained hard, and some days he wouldn't do much besides it, but the people here took part in everyday activities too. Orochimaru didn't wander through the hallways like a ghost, plotting the world's demise. In fact, Sasuke did not see him all that often. Orochimaru would be in his private room for most of the time. It was a rare occasion that the sannin would come down to the dining room to eat. Corresponding with Orochimaru almost exclusively took place via Kabuto.

Kabuto he would come across more. When Sasuke was suffering from heavy boredom, he would sometimes go to Kabuto's lab. It unnerved the medic, which Sasuke found highly amusing. Most of the time he would meet Kabuto in the hallways though, on or from his way to Orochimaru.

"Sasuke." Ah, there he was.

Sasuke stopped but did not turn to face the medic behind him. "Kabuto."

"Orochimaru-sama requested me to go train with you."

Sasuke turned his head in a bored manner. "Why doesn't he train me himself? We had a deal."

"Orochimaru-sama is busy."

Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah, there must be so much to do in this place."

Kabuto sighed. "Orochimaru-sama is the leader of Otogakure. The land doesn't lead itself. Why don't you just come along and do what he says for once? Besides, I'm sure you enjoy fighting me," Kabuto smiled.

"That I do. Unfortunately, I have nothing to learn from you," Sasuke said, walking away in his typical arrogant manner.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose, looking down and sighing deeply. What a brat. He decided not to put any more effort in Sasuke right now. Personally, he didn't care. He had always disliked the man. Ever since the beginning of the whole ordeal, Kabuto had doubted the idea of Sasuke as a vessel. He hated how Orochimaru would chuckle at Sasuke's snidy remarks instead of striking him down like he'd do with any other who dared go against his will. Not that his master let Sasuke be his frustrated, arrogant self all the time, no. Far from that, during the years, Sasuke had gotten his fair share of violence related punishment.

It was almost three years ago that Orochimaru had given the Uchiha his infamous Curse Mark. Kabuto didn't see the need anymore of trying to reason with Sasuke. As much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke had become a very strong ninja. There was only a small amount of time between the now and the moment when his master would take the young man as his vessel. He doubted if Sasuke could learn anything more during that time.

Kabuto decided to go back to his master's room. If there was anything that the sannin demanded strongly from his medic, it was to keep him informed about everything that involved Sasuke, at any time.

The grey haired shinobi knocked on the thick wooden door that separated his master's private room from the rest of the complex. He opened the door quietly when he heard no response. Of course, he was the only person who was allowed such a thing. Orochimaru highly valued his privacy. It was because Kabuto had always been with his master, through fortunate and less fortunate times, that he had gotten this unsaid privilege.

"Orochimaru-sama?"

"I am in here, Kabuto," the feared sannin spoke from another chamber. Kabuto instantly noted that Orochimaru was in his bedroom. His private chamber consisted of a relatively large space, where there were shelves with books and scrolls. Orochimaru's chair was there as well, where he would often sit as a king on his throne. Another door, smaller and less thick, led to his bedroom, probably the most private space in all the hideout. Sasuke had not been there, not once. The door was open and Kabuto entered.

He found Orochimaru sitting on his bed, back faced towards his underling. His aura was as strong as ever.

"Sasuke does not wish to train."

"Have you even tried to convince him, Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked wearily. "You have not been out there for a very long time."

Kabuto made a slight bow. It was a gesture he had accustomed to ever since he had started working for Orochimaru. "I apologise. He walked away before I could try to reason with him."

Then, his master let out a small sigh and ran a hand over his face.

Kabuto hesitated for a moment, but could not stop himself from asking. "Are you alright, Orochimaru-sama?"
His hesitation was obvious though, and he knew that his master sensed it.

His master turned. The chalk white skin of his face seemed to glow in the dark chamber. It was like the moon, reflecting the light that it could absorb. He looked tired though, his eyes weren't as menacing as usual.

"I am tired, Kabuto-kun."

For a moment, Kabuto didn't know what to say. He had learned from past experiences that Orochimaru valued his pride above all else, so to speak, and any sign of weakness should not be talked about like it was a normal thing. It was thus rare that he made such honest statement. Next to that, the medic also knew that his master was even more unpredictable when aggravated, tired, frustrated, sick or anything alike.

"Is this why you preferred I trained Sasuke for today?" Kabuto tried.

"Maybe."

The answer was short enough that Kabuto decided not to ask anything else and prepare to leave the room.

"If you want, I can bring you something to eat, Orochimaru-sama."

The snake ninja nodded his head once. "That would be nice."

It was not long before Kabuto found himself in the kitchen, making soup with noodles in it. On his way there, he had decided not to make any for Sasuke. If he were so superior anyway, he sure could make his own food.

Kabuto's thoughts were about his master. He wondered how the end of the three years would present itself this time. He remembered the last time very vividly. Images of Orochimaru, arms dead by Sarutobi's fuuinjutsu, flashed through his mind. It had been a horrible experience, for both his master and him. Orochimaru's pain had been evident of course, but Kabuto had suffered his share as well, being utterly useless and incompetent of healing his superior. There was nothing that ensured that things would go less troublesome this time. Even after thorough research, Kabuto had never been able to completely grasp Orochimaru's Immortality jutsu. Neither had his master, though, who was just like him unprepared of what was to come. Kabuto could only try to approach things in the right way. Also, he hoped that Sasuke would stay out of it until the very end, where he would meet his own demise. The thought of it made the medic chuckle. Finally he'd be rid of the annoying Uchiha.

When Kabuto went back to his master's room, he found Orochimaru asleep on his bed, on top of the covers. He put the bowl of soup on the table.

Sasuke lay on his bed, pondering about the future. He knew it had been almost three years. The time would come to pay his part of the deal. Well, the part that Orochimaru thought he would pay at least. Sasuke had never planned to become the man's vessel. He had never understood why anyone, like Kimimaro, would have given everything just to become the perfect vessel. Why would he want to become someone else's body when he had his own, that fortunately possessed a powerful kekkai genkai. He knew that Orochimaru was lying when he said the person's soul would remain dormant in his own. It was all a lie. And even if a part of the soul would remain, he was sure that Orochimaru's subconscious would push it into a dark corner of his mind, leaving it no chance to get through to the body.

Although Sasuke was determined not to become Orochimaru's vessel, he has no concrete plans whatsoever to avoid that fate. For years, the snake sannin had talked about the time when he would finally take over, but Sasuke had to admit that he didn't know how it would go. Orochimaru had never spoken of a set time when it would occur, or how. But time was closing in on him, and he needed a plan, fast.

Kabuto had not expected Sasuke to walk into the kitchen when he sat there, eating soup.

"Kabuto. How does it work?" Sasuke asked. He sat down at the other end of the table and stared at the medic. His Sharingan eyes were glowing a fierce red. It unnerved Kabuto for the simple fact that the man had no reason to use his kekkai genkai but still would.

"How does what work?"

"How does he take over?"

Kabuto put down his spoon and crossed his arms. He was silent for a moment and gazed down at his soup.

"You won't feel a thing, if that's what troubling you," Kabuto lied. He shortly recalled Genyuumaru's cries in the dark. You'll regret ever having entered the Forest of Death.

"I am not troubled. I am curious. I've been training for years. I believe I have the right to know about my future." Sasuke remained perfectly still, in control as always.

"He's not ready yet." He's not weak enough.

"When will he be?" Sasuke demanded.

Kabuto picked up his spoon and toyed with it. "I'm not sure. He'll feel it when the time is there. It won't be too long though, it has almost been three years."

"I want to talk to him."

"I'll let him know, after I finish my dinner."

Sasuke didn't reply. He stood up and walked over to the counter to fill himself a bowl of soup. Damn bastard doesn't even ask, Kabuto thought.

"Orochimaru-sama?"

"I am awake, Kabuto."

Kabuto entered the bedroom and saw Orochimaru, still on his bed, staring above.

"Sasuke wishes to speak with you," Kabuto said, making his usual bow.

"About what?"

"The transfer ritual, I believe. He wants to know when the time will come."

His master chuckled darkly. "It will come soon, Kabuto-kun. Finally, I will accomplish my goal. He has grown into the perfect vessel."

"Soon?" Kabuto asked, wanting to know more. His personality was curious to no end, especially when it involved his superior. Even if Kabuto was the man that Orochimaru probably trusted the most, or to say, distrusted the least, the man would often be vague when he said things, keeping the secrecy high.

"Yes. This body is starting to reject me," Orochimaru said in a casual tone.

"What? When? Since when do you know?" Kabuto asked loudly, alerted at once.

Orochimaru glanced at his medic and chuckled. "Does it bother you?"

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama! Precautions must be taken. It wouldn't be wise to leave on another mission anymore. More guards should be assigned to keep out intruders at all cost."

"Kabuto, Kabuto. My body has been rejecting me ever since we encountered the Kyuubi boy of Konoha. I am still capable."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama…"

Kabuto cursed himself. How could he not have noticed this? It was vital information, being Orochimaru's medic and right hand man.

"Why did you not tell me?" he asked quietly.

"I knew you would make a fuss."

Kabuto felt slightly insulted. But then again, he knew his master. Despite being a scientist himself, Orochimaru was not the kind of man to take medical advice easily. After the fight with Sarutobi, Orochimaru had slain a handful of underlings who had tried to get him to take his medicine. Kabuto had his ways though. His Feather Illusion jutsu had come in quite handy more than once.

"How did you notice at first?" Kabuto asked, not able to suppress his typical inquiring voice.

"During the fight with the Kyuubi boy, I was able to perform as usual, but it took a lot of energy. The battle left me drained."

Kabuto nodded. "Your chakra reserves are running low."

"Yes." Orochimaru sat upright on the bed and looked Kabuto in the eyes. "But soon, I will obtain the Sharingan, and I will be even more powerful than before." Excitement shone in those golden eyes.

"How long do you wish to wait for the transfer?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "It is not something I choose. For over two years, I have trained Sasuke-kun. I made him powerful because we made a deal. I want him to come to me."

With that, Kabuto felt slightly hope ridden for a moment. "I am not sure…"

"He will come to me, Kabuto. If he is as worthy as he says, he will come before me. And he will give what belongs to me."

"Orochimaru-sama, but what if-"

"He will come to me, Kabuto."