Huddled beneath an ancient tree, there sat a figure waging war with himself. He couldn't stop shivering from causes only he knew. Sweat cascaded down his body, despite the unnatural cold. If one were daring enough to pass by, they would happen upon a strange one-sided conversation.
"It's not true, it's not true," he whimpered.
"There's no point in lying to your self, Kabuto," the voice inside his head hissed.
"It's not a lie," Kabuto protested desperately.
"Who are you trying to fool?" it asked, "You've signed your own death certificate, it won't be long now."
"No, I can fix this," Kabuto claimed, "I know I can."
"No you can't," it raged, "We are both in this mess because of some idiotic whim of yours; a whim that only one of us will survive. Unfortunately, that person will end up being me."
"No," Kabuto yelped.
The voice had only appeared recently, but he knew it better than anyone else. He followed that voice until it had ceased to exist... or so he thought. He figured that if he ever had the chance to hear it ever again it would be a morbid comfort; he was wrong. It haunted him day and night, muttering horrid truths that neither of them were ready to face. Despite how it tried to hide it, the voice wasn't ready to lose him and it didn't want it to happen this way either.
Ever since he integrated parts of Orochimaru's body in to his own, his nights have never been the same. At first, he could barely notice it, but as times progressed sleep became more dangerous. Some nights he could feel his soul, dare he say, being caressed by another. Some of those, he enjoys it, even though he knows he shouldn't. However, he stopped sleeping for some since that contact came every night, even when he barely closed his eyes it would come.
Now I know how Gaara felt, Kabuto thought running his hand through his already disheveled hair.
The voice chuckled wickedly, enjoying being compared to the sand ninja's inner demon. Kabuto didn't find it funny in the very least. Being afraid to close one's eyes because of a fear of never being able to open them again was no life for someone to live. They both knew that very well.
"I can fix this, I know I can," he stated, "I can find you a new vessel...Orochimaru-sama."
"We shall see," Orochimaru replied.
Two young monks watched over their priest and sensei as he pondered over the scroll before him. Early during the night, five strangers came with a scroll, begging for the priest to watch over it. When the priest consented, two strange looking women were charged to stay behind and guard the priest and scroll with their lives. The young monks didn't have a chance to get a good look at the two kunoichi before they disappeared in the shadows and the other three left.
They didn't understand why the priest had taken the task so willingly. Of course, there were a lot of things that their sensei did that they didn't understand. However, this question nagged them more than any other.
"Sensei, why did you take the scroll?" the younger and more bold one of the two asked.
His sensei chuckled and stated, "It is my duty, Miya. No other priest is qualified for the job."
"Yes," the other monk now asked, "but why you? What is so special about this scroll that only you are qualified?"
"Rin," the priest sighed, "this scroll was brought to us from the stars."
Both of the monks were in awe at the honor of having their sensei have such a task. However, they doubted anyone would come to their shrine since no one ever did. The woods they resided in were highly feared as they soon found that Orochimaru had once resided there. People say that he was finally defeated, but there were rumors that his ghost still walked through the forest.
Rin was the elder of the two monks and felt a higher obligation to Miya-kun and Makoto-sama. He kept his long ebony hair in a braid out of respect for Makoto-sama, who had threatened to cut it off on more than one occasion. His emerald eyes always watched over Miya-kun, who had a reluctant habit of getting into trouble due to his insatiable curiosity. Rin knew Makoto-sama favored Miya-kun, which is why he had taken to the sword in order to protect Miya-kun. Makoto-sama had disapproved openly, but that didn't stop Rin from his daily practices.
Miya was precious to both Makoto-sama and Rin-san. Miya was always a little embarrassed about his name and appearance. However, he had come to accept his silky, white hair and ruby red eyes. Unlike Rin, Miya was small and slender, and almost always confused for a girl. On the back of his left shoulder, he had an outline of a black fox from ever since he could remember.
"My sons," Makoto said, "it is late, go to bed."
"Yes, Makoto-sama," Both Rin and Miya replied.
"Rin-kun," Makoto interjected.
"Yes, Makoto-sama?" Rin asked.
Makoto had waited until Miya had left before saying, "From now on I want you to sleep with Miya."
"Makoto-sama," Rin questioned.
"In fact," Makoto continued, "I want you to be closer to him than his very shadow. I want you both to be safe."
"Is something foul in the air?" Rin asked.
"May be not tonight," Makoto sighed wearily, "but if Orochimaru's soul does still walk these woods, then he shall desire the secret of this scroll."
"Why Makoto-sama?" Rin insisted.
"If Orochimaru's soul still has form, even if it's locked away in stone, this scroll shall return him to a body for him to control. I don't wish that for Miya-kun or you."
"Yes, Makoto-sama," Rin replied.
Rin walked into Miya's room to see his snowy white hair from beneath his blanket. He sighed as he crawled in next to him. Miya stirred and awoke, confused as to why he was looking at Rin.
"Rin...w-why are you..." he asked meekly.
"It was Makoto-sama's wish," Rin whispered.
Miya didn't question Rin any further, even though they both knew he wanted to. He allowed Rin to finish getting comfortable. Soon Rin wrapped his arms around Miya's neck.
"Hey," Rin breathed, "remember when you would sneak into my room during the nightly storms?"
"Yeah," Miya replied sheepishly, "the thunder would always scare me."
"It still does occasionally," Rin giggled.
"It does not," Miya whined.
Rin giggled as Miya pouted his signature pout at the truth just spoken. It wasn't long before Miya drifted off to sleep. Rin wanted to sleep, but he felt compelled to keep watch over Miya. That night, he refused to let his desire for sleep take hold of him as he guarded the shrine's true treasure.
Kabuto breathed heavily as he spied upon some fools that just might make his day. He listened as they spoke of a scroll that had travelled to other lands, battled the fruits of ancient magic, and had arrived in a shrine nearby. He wondered if this scroll could help him and Orochimaru. It was certainly something that would be worth reading into. Cautiously, he slipped away into the shadows with a devious smirk on his face.
An old man sat behind a large and dusty desk piled on with old parchments. He mumbled some obscenities about being too old and no one these days having respect for their history or anyone's for that matter. He was caught off guard when a kunai was held in front of his face. Slowly, he looked up to see Kabuto, Orochimaru's once right-hand man.
"Good day old man," he stated, "I am here to do some studying, and I would like to do it in..."
Interrupting the medic-nin, the old man raged, "Take it then, take the entire bookstore! I quit!"
A sweat-drop slid down Kabuto's confused face as the old man barged out, muttering some more obscenities. Kabuto waited to be sure that the old man hadn't given him away. When no one had come, he slowly slunk through the back. Hastily, he began to pull out each and every manuscript, scroll, and parchment that might prove useful.
Hours later, Kabuto was yelling a few of his own obscenities. Orochimaru had shut himself off so he wouldn't have to listen to them. Knowing this, Kabuto didn't know whether to be upset or to find it as a comfort. However, something soon caught his eye. He began reading intensely at the information that was finally leading him somewhere. Now, everything he would pick up and read proved useful. When he finished, he gathered a few manuscripts and started dousing the store in oil. There was no crime, but he felt the need of destroying any sign of him being there. After he had everything in hand, he lit a match and ran into the shadows while the store burned behind him.
"Don't worry Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto confidently stated, "we're getting somewhere."
"We shall see," Orochimaru chided.
Makoto sighed heavily upon hearing the news of the bookshop. Miya was confused, but Rin was now seeing the ominous clouds ahead. To keep them from asking the obvious questions, he had them tend to the gardens. However, the two kunoichi had questions they refused to leave unanswered.
"Priest," the eldest one asked, "is Orochimaru behind this?"
"No," he replied, "I do believe that he is involved in some way, but I doubt he is the one pulling the strings."
"Are you saying that they are trying to revive that monster?" the other yelled.
"I believe that Kabuto is at least," he answered.
"What will happen if he comes here?" the elder asked earnestly.
"I fear we will have a fight my boys and I might not survive," he muttered.
They had remained in silence over an impending doom that frightened all of them. However, out in the gardens, Miya couldn't keep quiet. Rin was left finding he didn't know how to answer some of Miya's questions.
"You don't think Orochimaru is involved," Miya asked, "do you, Rin-san?"
"I don't know, Miya-kun," Rin breathed.
"You don't think they're going to revive him," he asked more urgently.
"I don't know, Miya," Rin yelled, catching himself a little too late.
Miya froze, caught off guard by Rin actually yelling at him. Immediately, Rin felt sorry for yelling at him like he did. He walked over to Miya, who wanted to curl up and die.
"Miya-kun," he said gently, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."
A mischievous smile appeared on Miya's face as he said, "What do you think of Suki?"
"She's too old for you," Rin replied, glad to see Miya had forgiven him.
"Aw, you're no fun," Miya whined playfully.
"What about Yuri?" Rin teased.
"She's too young for you," Miya responded, hiding his blush, "You dirty monk, you."
"Who...me?" Rin stated, pretending to be shocked and insulted.
They went back to their work as they teased each other. Rin might have found Suki attractive, but he found no interest in her, knowing she would leave when this was all over. Miya had developed a crush on bubbly Yuri and enjoyed seeing her.
Suki was the older kunoichi of the two, and therefore she had seniority over Yuri. She had deep red hair that hung to her waist. Her slender body and pale skin was quite appealing. A lively spark dwelled in her sharp brown eyes. However, she secluded herself from everyone so as to have no distractions. The people she interacted with were Yuri and Makoto.
Yuri, on the other hand, was no older than 15. She wore her unruly, purple hair in pigtails. Her silver eyes gave away to her bubbly personality. Suki teased her for still not showing any signs of hitting puberty. Unlike Suki, she enjoyed talking with the monks and flirting with Miya.
The two enjoyed themselves as they continued to tend the gardens. Nevertheless, a war was raging in Rin's head as he tried to process recent events. He dreaded the thought of Miya being used for Orochimaru's disgusting plans, whatever they may be.
Kabuto sat in a hotel room, reading and memorizing each and every word. He was also fortunate enough to happen upon a map that showed where the shrine was. He had made a plan to find the shrine and make further plans from there. Orochimaru seemed a little pensive, but he left Kabuto alone, allowing Kabuto to spend the entire night studying.
When morning came, he started to clean his room. He scrubbed the place clean until his fingers were about to bleed. As soon as any sign of him being there had vanished, he took his leave.
"You're being very cautious," Orochimaru stated.
"I don't want to risk someone ruining things," Kabuto replied.
"Well, just remember that you CAN be too cautious, " Orochimaru suggested.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto complied.
He arrived at the shrine shortly afterwards. To his surprise, the shrine actually wasn't very far from the bunker that Orochimaru and he used to inhabit when Sasuke had come to Orochimaru. The thought of the Uchiha caused bile to rise into Kabuto's throat, leaving a foul taste in his mouth. It was a surprise that they have never noticed the shrine before.
Despite how well they were hidden, Kabuto noticed the two kunoichi. They would be a problem for him, but there being two of them at the shrine gave him a slight hope. When he noticed the monks, he was in awe. They were both extremely beautiful, and the albino was indeed a rare find. However, he had his eyes set on the other monk for Orochimaru's new body.
"He's lovely," Orochimaru stated, "why don't we keep the albino as a pet?"
"We can come back for him," Kabuto reprimanded, "AFTER I have you in your new body."
"You've never spoken to me like that before," Orochimaru said.
Kabuto had no time for apologizing at the moment. He also wasn't in the mood for one of Orochimaru's eccentric fancies, even though he had thought the same thing. Immediately, he made plans for the night.
Rin started to worry when he couldn't find Miya anywhere. In frantic haste, he checked every room he could think of and his search was fruitless. He took to the gardens in hopes of finding Miya. He soon found Miya taking a nap in some lush ferns.
Rin couldn't help but giggle at the sight of him. He remembered when Makoto would scold Miya-kun for napping in the green plant life or the plentiful roots of the trees in the surrounding forest. However, as of late, Makoto has allowed Miya-kun this pastime. Rin rested himself against a nearby rock, and then he pulled Miya up until Miya's head rested in the crook of his neck.
"I promised Makoto-sama I would protect you, Miya-kun," Rin stated to the still sleeping Miya upon him, "Therefore, I refuse to let you out of my sight... or grasp."
Soon Kabuto planned everything out and now only needed to wait. He was exhausted and ached from fighting sleep for so long. Orochimaru knew this and knew if he were to fight the kunoichi in this condition that he might lose.
"You need to rest," Orochimaru declared.
"No," Kabuto spat, "I will rest when this is over."
"You won't get anywhere unless you do," Orochimaru growled.
"I'll never open my eyes if I do," Kabuto muttered.
"Which is the lesser of the two evils?" Orochimaru asked, "If you die, we both die!"
"Why don't you believe in me?" Kabuto cried.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Orochimaru responded.
"Ever since that Uchiha brat, you have lost all faith in me!" Kabuto proclaimed, "Now whether you believe me or not, I'm going to get the scroll and that monk for your new body."
When night finally fell, Kabuto arose from his hiding place. He slowly moved his way to the shrine's entrance. Everything was quiet as he walked through the corridors. Soon he came to a room and opened the door to find the albino and Orochimaru's future body sleeping. Kabuto went over to them and covered the raven haired monk's face with a cloth moist with chloroform. As he fought, he woke the albino, whose ruby eyes shown with fear.
"Rin-san," Miya yelled, before being struck unconscious and flying across the floor.
"Don't scar his pretty face," Orochimaru teased.
"So your name is Rin?" Kabuto questioned, "Heh, not for long... oh, and such a pretty face, too."
Soon the two kunoichi came and attacked him. For a moment, it looked like Kabuto would surely fall. However, Yuri cried out when Suki's blood flew across the wall. When Yuri ran for Suki, Kabuto snapped her neck quickly.
"They shouldn't have children do this," Kabuto mumbled, "Not when they have parents to mourn over them."
"This is no time to be sympathetic," Orochimaru mentioned sympathetically to him, shocking Kabuto.
"When is there ever?" Kabuto asked.
Kabuto hoisted Rin onto his shoulder and headed for the scroll. When he saw the priest, he figured he had found the right room. Behind the priest, he could see the scroll and something else that caught his eye.
"You will not take Rin," the priest yelled, throwing some dust in Kabuto's face from a pouch at his side, "Begone demon!"
In an instant, Kabuto lost control and Orochimaru raced towards the priest. In a mere second, Orochimaru's fangs clamped down around the priest's throat as he snapped the holy man's neck like twig. Kabuto pulled away in shock at the coppery taste on his lips and the fruits of Orochimaru's sheer ferocity of the likes which he had never seen from the man. Despite that, there was nothing he could do; the priest was dead at his feet.
He walked over to the statue behind the scroll. It was a statue of a kitsune, but she had wings on her feet and hands. Kabuto gradually pushed it aside to reveal a tunnel. He then grabbed the scroll, hoisted Rin up and then entered the tunnel.
"You know there's a saying, 'curiosity killed the cat,'" Orochimaru mentioned.
Kabuto ignored him as he continued on. He soon came to a secret chamber with a bed. A man was laid across it and showed no response to Kabuto's entry. Kabuto laid Rin onto the foot of the bed and received no response, still. When Kabuto studied the youth's face and removed the covers to study his body, he smiled.
"Perfect," he whispered, "it is like he was laid out just for you, Orochimaru-sama."
"Yes, or he was laid out for that priest to have some fun with," Orochimaru hissed with great distaste.
"He's not restrained," Kabuto replied.
"Do a physical on him then," Orochimaru muttered.
Kabuto complied immediately, hoping that his find was completely untarnished. The man did not respond as Kabuto checked his oral cavity and pressed his cold hands against the warm abdominal cavity to be sure everything was how it should be. Kabuto smiled as he listened to the activity in the man's thoracic cavity. What grasped Kabuto's curiosity was when the nude didn't respond as he handled his pelvic region, moving the limited but silky pubic hair to check for warts or other abnormalities. He didn't receive any reactions when he even checked the man's anus for any signs of abuse.
"He's untouched, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto stated gleefully, "There are no flaws upon his body whatsoever."
"I want him then," Orochimaru declared.
"As you wish," Kabuto responded.
Kabuto hoisted the beautiful nude onto his shoulder and grabbed the scroll. Leaving Rin unconscious on the foot of the bed, he made a mad dash out of the shrine. Orochimaru's new vessel was limp against his body causing him little difficulties as he ran for a place that Orochimaru told him would be useful.
Miya awoke and found Suki and Yuri defeated. Suki's chest was stained with blood as was his walls. Yuri, on the other hand, seemed unharmed.
"Yuri," Miya yelled, crawling to her frantically.
"Don't touch her!" a man yelled, causing Miya to freeze in his tracks.
It was the others who had brought the scroll to the shrine. One went to Suki and picked her up while her head hung lifelessly. The other two carefully placed Yuri on a stiff board before placing her on a stretcher. "Poor Yuri," the man sympathized.
"Are they all right?" Miya asked hopefully.
"Unfortunately Suki bled out before we could reach her, and probably would have died either way," the man replied, "Yuri, however, will probably live, but she'll be maimed for the rest of her life."
Tears fell from Miya's eyes in torrents as they left with the girls. He had never thought he would see anyone's death, save for Makoto's from old age. Rin came running in shortly afterwards. He embraced Miya, allowing him to cry frantically from the previous events. He knew that they both had to leave and quick, but he also knew that at that moment Miya was in no condition to move in his state of shock.
The nude laid on a table compliantly after being wrapped up like a mummy. It relieved Kabuto to see him blink when the necessity came. The youth's eyes were empty, possessing no soul in the very least. He figured Orochimaru would take control over the body with little effort, if any. Soon they would both exist, and not have to worry about either of them fading away. What had him in awe was how much like Orochimaru the nude had looked. Porcelain for skin, ebony silk for hair, beautifully profound cheekbones, sumptuously plump lips, and that was just his facial features.
"Admiring my new body, are we now?" Orochimaru asked, startling Kabuto.
Everything was ready for the ritual, whether the necessities for it were odd or reasonable. Kabuto didn't like that he had to be naked, and the fact that it had to have a specific candle that he had never even heard of didn't help. However, despite his feelings, he had absolutely everything right down to the ingredients for the incense. Every so often, a breeze would run across his rump, through his legs, or up his spine making him wish he had something on. He envied Orochimaru's new vessel because the only part of him that was vulnerable to the chill was his eyes.
Kabuto started the incantation he worked so hard to memorize. Instantly, he felt his entire body become heated. He saw a mist start to form over the vessel, and some of the mist came from his very body. Excitement came over him as it took the form of Orochimaru. His eyesight started to blur as Orochimaru entered his new body. The man's chest rose as he inhaled deeply as if breathing the breath of life for the first time as Orochimaru's soul finished entering his new eyes. With every last bit of strength he had, Kabuto finished the incantation before collapsing into Orochimaru's new arms.
"Who are you?" he asked, before Kabuto went unconscious.
No, those were his eyes, that was his voice! No! NO! Kabuto's mind screamed.