He was stable. His breath was coming in steadily; his body was even now repairing itself, assisted by the chakra-infused hands of the bedside medic whose glasses glinted in the candle-lit room.

His patient had been saved, but if anything the medic looked displeased. He quickly jotted down some notes using his other hand on the notebook he had on the bedside table, a nasty looking cheap thing with flimsy splintering wooden legs that could collapse at any moment.

'How is the experiment going, Kabuto?'

Visits from Orochimaru checking on Kabuto's progress were neither common nor rare. So Kabuto prized them, but didn't go out of his way to make the visits extraordinary. No, Orochimaru saw exactly how Kabuto always was. There was no need for a mask in the presence of his master.

Well, he was close enough like his true self anyway. If it could be called that. Honestly Kabuto was so used to acting he didn't know how he really was anymore. He was what he needed to be, as he would think to himself.

'To sum it up, a failure.' Kabuto sighed, turning to his master who simply stared back.

'And the details?'

Interesting, Orochimaru wasn't often interested in the finer details unless it was an experiment to assist him directly. Probably needed to feel more in control after some trouble involving Sasuke. The boy was a strain on Orochimaru, in any other scenario Orochimaru would have killed the boy for his disregard for even the simplest of orders, but it all came down to the Sharingan. A way to accelerate Orochimaru's plan to learn each and every jutsu.

Orochimaru wasn't impatient, far from it. But he did take risks. Kabuto thought this risk wasn't worth taking. He had voiced his appearance, but Orochimaru had merely laughed. He was the one teaching Sasuke, after all, so he would know if the boy was really that dangerous to him.

'The first batch of test subjects were infected and allowed to escape the compound into the forest. I kept an eye on them to check how the infection progressed. All but one of them died within two to three days of first showing symptoms. The last one somehow started recovering during day eight and I was forced to eliminate him.'

'All but one… That sounds like a good result.' Orochimaru looked at the body in front of Kabuto, the steady breathing echoeing in the cavern. 'I take it this is one of the problems?'

'Indeed.' Kabuto's glasses glinted in the candlelight. 'When given proper medical attention, only one of the subjects I infected died. And that was still a week after symptoms. The others are all showing signs of recovery. This one just became stable.'

'So, not the most useful then… Pity, it's easy to transmit, and you've already infected plenty of people over the years. I'm surprised you didn't test its effectiveness earlier.'

'Indeed, Lord Orochimaru. I'll still be checking to see if there are any residue effects apparent, but I'll be moving on to my next experiment shortly.'

That is what Kabuto does, really. He always manages to keep busy. Be it an experiment or infiltration, his mind was always abuzz. Even when he was asleep, Orochimaru could hear the man occasionally muttering of what he was going to do the next day, planning it in his head most likely in the form of a lucid dream.

Orochimaru was a little more laid-back. Relaxing to see the results of his plans. Enjoying the sight of his opponents when they realize that they had fallen for it.

'Well, how about you tell me about your next experiment, Kabuto?'

Kabuto's eyes scanned his patient before turning back to the notebook to jot down a few more notes. 'Certainly, my next experiments are going to use the information we stole from Hiruko…'

Orochimaru moved off further into the cage, Kabuto followed him at a brisk pace. The body simply laid there, the steady breathing the only sound that could be heard.

Years later, there was no sign this had ever happened. Orochimaru was dead, and Kabuto had vanished with little traces to be found. Their base of operation had simply been left there.

At least it was at first going to simply be left alone. The place emanated with chakra and killing intent, despite the lack of a living presence. However, there were in fact two ninjas outside the cave, figuring out a safe way to enter.

The man in front stood perfectly still, his expression under the black mask that covered the top half of his face was one of concentration.

Concentration that was slightly lacking in the two ninjas behind him.

'Oi, would you hurry it up Torune!'

'Patience, we need to wait for Nairu, after all.'

The figure behind Torune rolled his hazel eyes. 'Look. This is a simple mission. We enter, avoid any of the traps that are supposedly in this derelict base, find what's in there, and get out. We shouldn't waste time.'

'Orochimaru was a dangerous and capable shinobi.' Torune scanned the cave entrance, trying to locate the sources of chakra. 'He could have put any number of traps in there. Nairu's an expert at this sort of thing.'

The figure let out an exaggerated sigh. He too wore a mask, except it was a standard white ANBU mask, in this case a monkey mask. 'I don't even know why I was brought along. I'm Rodaiken, a master interrogator and explosive expert, not an excavator.

'In case we find anyone in here, we may need your expertise.'

'Well, I sure hope it comes to that.' He began to tap his foot impatiently.

'We'll see soon enough.' A new voice entered the conversation,

'Bout time you got here, Nairu.' Rodaiken turned over him. Nairu wore an owl mask, and his body betrayed no emotion. Indeed, there was nothing about him that showed any personality whatsoever. The equipment was all standard, there was nothing unique in his appearance. Although perhaps that was something unique in itself. 'What took ya?'

'Some interlopers were within the designated area, they were dispatched and their bodies concealed.' There was no movement to accompany these words, he remained still.

'Let me guess, they were half a meter in?' Rodaiken kicked the earth in frustration. 'Dammit Nairu, you don't follow the orders to the letter! You know that it's going to cause more problems then it solves.'

'Problems come when people lower in the chain of command choose to disobey orders.' Now Nairu moved, walking up to the entrance of the cave.

'Believe what you want, I guess.' Rodaiken sighed. He walked over to Nairu's side, staring at the cave.

'What do you detect?' Torune joined them.

'Large concentrations of chakra, most of them intermingle so it's hard to find origins. Quite a few could easily be traps... couple of others are clearly contained in their source, so most likely some sort of object infused with chakra for some purpose.'

'Well, do we walk or run in?' Rodaiken asked casually, taking a step forward.

'Walk.'

Rodaiken put his hand to his mask. 'Well, damn.' If they had to walk in carefully, Nairu had to be pretty uneasy on if they were going to be able to avoid the traps. More often they would simply dash in; Nairu would order their movements to keep them out of harm's way.

'Well then, after you.' Rodaiken bowed mockingly.

'You're an insult to our group. It is irritating that you still remain this way.' Nairu said this rapidly before starting to move into the cave. Rodaiken merely grinned. Making him say something like that was a small victory. He followed Nairu casually, Torune followed suit.

Scarcely a few meters in Nairu began to slow to a crawl, carefully moving through the dangerous territory. Occasionally performing a leap which his team was quick to replicate. Still, progress was slow.

Ten centimeters.

All hell broke loose because Rodaiken's left foot was ten centimeters off where Nairu had deemed safe, triggering a chakra movement in the cave. Concealed mechanisms roared, the noise echoed throughout the cave.

All of a sudden, kunai filled the air. In a blur of motion each member of the team attempted to avoid them. It was a dance where just one wrong move could wind them up killed They mostly succeeded, a few scrapes from near misses, but it was a job well done. Rodaiken had one in his arm, but it would be easily recoverable, Torune figured.

And then, in the brief moment of calm as each kunai had hit the wall, everyone noticed.

Rodaiken's look of horror, the sharp intake of breath from Torune, The slight rising of Nairu's eyelids.

Each and every kunai had an explosive tag.

Torune ran back towards the entrance, Nairu ran further into the cave, Rodaiken didn't move at all. Either he was shocked, or knew from the explosive kunai in his arm that he was doomed.

An explosion tore through the cave; debris filled the air and crashed into the ground with resounding force.

Torune didn't know how he survived in those few seconds of hearing noise which reverberated through his skull and gave him no hint to what was happening. Those few seconds which all he could see is dust that found it's way through his mask into his eyes, making them water. The few seconds where all he could taste was blood, how it had got in his mouth he didn't know.

But he had survived, and he quickly decided to cautiously head back to see if either of his team had survived.

What he found was a mound of rubble blocking the way, and chunks of Rodaiken's flesh that littered the area. Well, he doubted that man had survived. But what about Nairu?

There was no way in, and Torune didn't know any jutsu that would help make a way through. He didn't have the ordinary insects of the Aburame clan, instead he had poisonous nano-sized insects. While deadly, they were nowhere near as adaptable for different situations. Quite irritating, Torune thought.

Well, he would give the standard fifteen minutes to see if there was any sign of a survivor. After that, he would call in some reinforcements to try and sift the wreckage.

He crouched stock still, attempting to conceal himself. If someone had heard that massive din, they could investigate. Preferably they wouldn't notice him, but he was ready…

He was like this for at least twelve minutes. Finally, there was a hissing noise as some of the rubble dissolved, just enough for Nairu to crawl out of, although it appeared he had to discard the blade he had on his back before.

'You took your time.' Torune moved to a standing position. 'I assume you further investigated the cave?'

'It is our objective.' Nairu replied bluntly. 'I noted down what was there, took some samples, and shall deliver it to our superior.'

He meant Danzo, but of course they couldn't say his name. The cursed seal on their tongue saw to that.

'And Rodaiken?'

'Dead, I assume.' He was already moving, dashing through the trees. Sighing, Torune followed. Mission success, with only one casualty.

And yet…

Nairu was good at concealing information, he was a sociopath after all. And yet Torune still had the feeling that Nairu was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.

Really, he should go back and check the cave himself - but what if there were more traps?

No, he would act normally now. Perhaps talk to Danzo about his behavior later, perhaps it was simply confidential and things he shouldn't know anyway.

Perhaps, perhaps. So many possibilities, and Torune didn't like it.

Welcome to the beginning of the fanfic Weakness of Fruition!

Any questions or random comments about this story are happily taken. Constructive Criticism appreciated. Have a nice day!