It was about an hour after he had been revived, and shortly after healing Tsunade, his next thought had been Makou. His memories from Kabuto told a tortured story of his young, devoted subordinate. "Karin, where is Makou?"
The red head beside him made a face, "Why does that ignorant bit-" He gave her an angry glance. "I mean, um, why do you ask? What does she matter right now?" Orochimaru could tell Karin did not like Makou, and it was easy to guess why. Makou had been intent on killing her obvious crush, Sasuke.
"You know very well why she matters Karin, now find her, and quickly." He said it calmly, but he felt a sense of urgency welling up inside him. Also, guilt. Karin closed her eyes and focused in on the chakra of the mokuton user.
"She's fighting alongside pretty much everyone else, it seems tense over there…Sasuke-kun is fighting too, he's so strong" Karin began to do a weird girly dance, one Orochimaru had no time for. The snake man cast her a stern, steely glance, her words weren't exactly precise and she was wasting valuable moments. Karin hitched her glasses and Suigetsu snickered as she answered again, this time much more specific "She's Southeast of the main battle Sasuke and your Edo Tensei summons are having with the Jyuubi"
"Lead us."
As they ran towards Makou's direction, Orochimaru felt a little relieved, though he wouldn't show it in front of his other followers. She wasn't dead, he thought to himself, and she was fighting, meaning, hopefully she wasn't injured either. As trees passed by, he could see the ravaged, torn battlefields that cut through the forests. He wondered if maybe some of the torn roots were perhaps Makou's.
Kabuto's memories that had been passed to him had shown him how much stronger and adept she had become at using the mokuton. But certainly nowhere near the prowess the First had had. He hoped, she hadn't pushed herself too far and tried to control the great beast that was now terrorizing the Shinobi forces. "Karin, how close are we?" he asked tensely, the urgency inside the serpent only growing stronger.
"Almost there, but her chakra is weak so it's hard to tell how close exactly." Weak, as he had feared, she probably had pushed herself much too far. The huge clearing carved from the battle was not too far ahead of them now, and the forest began to thin. "Below us!" Karin announced as she came to a stop.
Orochimaru grabbed onto a branch and swung into a stop, scanning the forest and faces for the raven haired girl. There she lay, obviously worn out, the Sarutobi girl next to her, looking as equally worn out. Makou had no idea he was revived, he doubted word had made it across the battlefield to her. Around them were other random shinobi from various villages scattered about, tending to other fallen Shinobi, as the ten tails raged in the distance. Makou's eyes weakly fluttered open, he saw the ferocious green eyes start to scan her surroundings as her body became rigid. The snake watched as she said something to the Sarutobi girl and sunk into the tree she had been leaning against. Suigetsu spoke up, "Soooo what exactly are we waiting for?" What indeed? But then he felt it, a sword in his back.
Karin and Suigetsu sprung out of Makou's way as she dove for Orochimaru "Kabuto, nice try, but you won't fool me-!?" but Orochimaru swiftly turned around and caught her in a headlock. He didn't intend to harm, but he had a feeling the shock of his next words would cause her, at the least, some distress. Though from her wild, disheveled look, it would probably be much more intense than than mild distress. Keeping her tightly in his grasp would prevent her from any harm, be it to herself, or another attempt at him.
"No trick my dear, only truth." He said it to her softly, the guilt weighing heavily in his words. He felt her body go weak, as her knees gave out underneath her. He slowly lowered her to her knees, her face in his palms. The once ferocious green had softened almost instantly as she looked up into his own amber eyes.
"I- what? How are you...I'm dead." her face instantly fell and the same maddened look returned to her eyes; he saw the tears drop to the soil below her, each drop caused the grass to grow a little longer and new blades to sprout. "I'm dead and here you are, because how else could you be?" She looked up at him in disbelief. "I'm in hell for the atrocities I've done to get you back, and here you are, but it's my own personal purgatory." The last words stung him. Not from hurt, but from the pain she radiated.
"No you idiot, he's really here, Sasuke-kun brought him back, how about that?" Orochimaru put up a hand to silence Karin as she drew a breath to continue her gloating. "What all I said was that Sasuke-kun did what she couldn't." Karin huffed as she held her hands up innocently.
"I TRIED!" Orochimaru heard Makou scream it, He went to grab her as she flew towards Karin, He caught her as vines lashed out from under her cloak. She looked at the serpent, and once again sank to the ground, through tears she muttered, "I tried, so hard Orochi-sama." Orochimaru could see the emotional instability in her face, he wondered if she really thought it was him. "I was going to kill that bastard Uchiha for taking you away from me. I was going to take his eyes, Itachi's eyes, and bring you back, unseal you from that cursed blade. But I wouldn't just take his eyes, I was going to torture him, make him beg for me to take them and kill him." He held her hands as she grasped his desperately, as she shook with anger and sadness. She had gone insane in his absence, completely abandoning any morals she had once had. She too, like Sasuke, refused to kill unless necessary, but here she was, her voice dripping with vengeance and hatred for the Uchiha, a former teammate and comrade of hers. He realized now why he had felt the guilt earlier, this young girl had really loved him. Of all people. He had manipulated her, used her for her rare bloodline for his own profit, and worst of all, had his cold, reptile like heart ever really meant it to her when he would say he loved her? He thought back to the many revelations he had when sealed in the Totsuka blade. Could he have been capable of love at that time? He had been most concerned about his young prodigy and next body, Sasuke, at that time. If anything, it was probably the closest he came to "loving" anything that was another human. And what about now? With her in front of him, still devoted as ever what did the snake man feel? Makou had been his next priority after healing Tsunade, so that must have meant something right? He hadn't realized it, but his gentle grasp had become a tight embrace, her face buried in his chest. This young girl loved him, and all his flaws, and he knew there were many. Prior to his sealing, at a drop of a hat, had it been necessary, the snake man would have killed her had he needed to, if it meant achieving his goal of making the windmill move. Something told him, she knew that too, but she had dared to love the bloodthirsty serpent none the less.
He remembered his first encounter with the young girl, during the chuunin exams. Kabuto had told him much about her, and about her adoration she had shown towards the sannin in the academy. Alongside Sasuke she had shown much potential. How exciting, he had thought at the time, that such a powerful senju had such an interest in him. He had crafted a special mark just for her, one that would only work because of that infatuation, a complete exploit of her feelings towards him. Juin no Ai. He could see it now in his mind, when he had bit her, Makou's mark had appeared above her heart, the mark itself faintly resembled a heart itself. It was ironic now, maybe his subconscious had been working against him the whole time, but while the mark had been intended to provide him complete control over her, here and now he thought, it was a symbol of something much realer, and much more precious than control or manipulation.
" I love you Makou." He said it quietly, but it was unwavering. He meant it this time, he was sure of it. She held him tighter, a muffled reply as she buried herself further in his embrace.
"I can't believe you came back to me my Lord, I missed you so much...I love you."
"That's so freaking creepy." Suigetsu sniffled a little. As Makou looked up at Orochimaru she seemed much more stable and drew a shaky breath. Her bright green eyes looked a little more like how they used to, full of an inner sunlight. He gave her a gentle smile. He had a lot to make up for, a lot to tell her, and most importantly of all, a new life he would create with her. It was a start.