Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" or any characters associated with the series

Promise

She frowned at the way he looked at her—as if he were looking at her for the last time. His single eye was enough to send an obvious message to her; something was wrong.

Kakashi stewed in the silence as Sasuke remained motionless on the concrete floor. The jonin smiled softly from under his covering, the apprehension somewhat settled now that the sealing jutsu had been completed; for the time being, the 13 year old's curse mark would be contained.

"Looks like he's tired himself out." Within seconds, a chill came over the masked man. His visible eye widened at the sharp chakra that encompassed him, his heart skipping a beat at the sudden intrusion.

"So, you can use such strong sealing techniques now? Or has someone special taught you this jutsu?" The smooth yet shrill voice made Kakashi's insides twist, tension building in his shoulders. His back was kept towards the intruder, but the shinobi didn't have to see him with his eye to know who it was that had joined him.

"My, how you've grown." The way his name rolled off the invader's tongue made his skin crawl. "It's been quite some time, Kakashi-kun."

Slowly, the Leaf ninja turned to face his enemy, every concern—every negative scenario now coming to life from Kakashi's imagination. He had speculations of Orochimaru's presence and of what he wanted, but not once had he truly expected to come face to face with the sanin, himself.

He remembered so vividly—the very first time he had crossed paths with this creature.

"What do you want?" The long haired man merely smiled with a venomous gleam in his eyes, his gaze flickering down towards the unconscious boy before he turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"You're lucky, you know. To have gotten what you wanted." Confusion was clear, even with the mask and hitai-ate covering most of the jonin's face. "You didn't have that last time we spoke." And then, he realized what it was.

"The Sharingan in your left eye."

So that was what he was after. All this time, and he wanted the power of the Uchiha clan. A man like Orochimaru with something as dangerous as the Sharingan? No good would come of that; Kakashi would have to relay this news to the Hokage.

"...What a stupid ambition." Orochimaru's smirk widen, an amused gleam shining in his gold eyes.

"Wasn't that just blunt."

"So then, Sasuke is merely a pawn in your little game?" Kakashi watched Orochimaru with a narrow-eyed stare, the sanin remaining collected.

"I suppose you understand how these things go, no?" Chills flickered down the Copy Nin's back. "However, Sasuke is a far more valuable piece on my board. He and another—who I'm sure you're familiar with." Immediately, Kakashi's heart sank to the bottoms of his feet. His composure nearly cracked, though he did well to mask his discomfort and stay as put-together as he could; under the pressure and with Orochimaru's threat, it was becoming more difficult for Kakashi not to instantly react.

"What fine work she's done with setting this sealing jutsu up for you." Orochimaru licked his lips while his eyes wandered around the markings the woman had drawn out earlier.

"I watched her, you know." The older man took a careful and precise step closer to Kakashi, the jonin trembling from a combination of fear and rage. "As she prepared this jutsu for you and the boy, I watched her. Ever so concentrated—ever so beautiful. She knows this jutsu like the back of her hand. Though I suppose that's to be expected from one such as Karibi-chan."

"Don't." The way Orochimaru said her name—it didn't sit well with Kakashi.

A glint of mischief shined in the older shinobi's eyes as he watched Kakashi, observing his reaction to his specific words. He could tell so easily how hard this was for the young man—to pretend as if the way he spoke about the Uzumaki didn't effect how he felt. He had to give him credit where it was due; most men would have failed to keep their composure.

"You see, I've had my eyes on Karibi-chan for a very long time. I'm sure you remember." The very first time they had met was the very day Sandaime had rescued Karibi from Orochimaru's clutches. "There is a brilliance to her chakra. She's like an endless fountain of power. The water is always running, and therefore, there is always water present within the fountain." Kakashi's jaw clenched, Orochimaru twitching with excitement as he spoke about the red haired woman.

"Her knowledge of fuinjutsu is something to behold, as well." Kakashi refused to say anything.

But the last thing Orochimaru said had been the very last straw.

"When all is said and done, I will have my way with Karibi-chan." The man licked his lips with a vicious glimmer in his dark eyes. His blood began to pop as he imagined having the woman to his disposal. All the things he would do with her—it filled him with pure joy. "She will be mine. And mine alone." With one more step, Orochimaru approached.

And that was when Kakashi finally reacted.

With a feral growl, Kakashi spread his legs and bent his knees. His arm was extended towards the floor, his hand creating a ball of chakra from the tips of his fingers. There was a charge of raw rage shooting off within the man as he conjured his Chidori. And as he glared ferociously at Orochimaru, the memory of Karibi's distant face after her retrieval from said sanin churned his stomach.

"STOP!" The electric energy in his hand lit the room up with a hue of cyan blue, Orochimaru gazing down at the chakra with fascination; he had to admit, Kakashi was rather interesting. "I don't care who you are—sanin or not! I vow, here and now, you take one more step closer and one of us will die here!" There was no fear in the shinobi's eyes. There was only conviction and truth; he was willing to sacrifice himself in that very moment for the two people that meant so much to him.

Orochimaru was amused. For even if Kakashi dealt some sort of damage, the sanin's victory would still be his.

He planned to get what he wanted.

And he wanted Sasuke.

And he wanted Karibi.

"Poor Kakashi. All of your brave and noble efforts wasted in vain." Kakashi narrowed his visible eye.

"Karibi-chan, herself, knows that her seal won't hold my mark for long. Soon enough, Sasuke will realize the only way to get what he wants will be to join me. And when that day comes, there will be nothing you can do to stop him or me." Kakashi's passion began to fizzle out as reality settle over his foggy mind. The power of his Chidori began to fade, the glow in the room fading with it.

"...You think you can manipulate him into doing what you please?"

"I think he's smart enough to know what he needs." And Orochimaru would make sure that Sasuke would need him.

Kakashi growled before he scoffed. "...I won't let you take him. And I sure as hell won't let you take Karibi." That made Orochimaru giggle.

"Oh, dear. You couldn't stop me the first time, so what makes you think you can stop me now?" That made the blood run cold in the Leaf ninja's veins.

The sanin didn't bother lingering, turning and heading back into the shadows. He stopped, glancing over his shoulders and looking over at Kakashi with a dark gleam in his eyes. "Try all you'd like, but you can't stop what's already begun, Kakashi-kun." The traitor of Konoha narrowed his gold eyes. "There is a plethora of power and knowledge within Karibi-chan. And it will be mine." His words came out almost like a hiss.

"All will be as it should. You should try and understand, Karibi-chan was mine to begin with, Kakashi-kun." Said man's Chidori completely faded, Orochimaru fading into the darkness with it. "You can't take what already belongs to me."

"...She doesn't belong to you, and she never has." She belonged to no one.

Kakashi's hands balled into tight fists. "...I promise you, Orochimaru, if you try and lay a single finger on Karibi, I will end you."

"...And I promise you, Kakashi, if you try and stop me, she will watch you die." Said jonin's eyes widen as a bitterness settled over the man. "And how many more people will you force her to endure losing?" And with that, the sanin was gone.

Hi there! For those who are reading this out of the blue, I would highly suggest you to follow up with the original story that this stems from, "Of All the Diamonds in the Rough". You may be quite confused as to what this conversation is really about or who this conversation is about, and that story would give you more insight about what's going on here LOL Sorry about the confusion!

To anyone reading this that has already read my story, this popped into my head a little bit ago. As I was writing about the second part of the chunin exams and thinking about what was going on with Karibi thrown into the original series, this idea came into my head. So I decided to just get it down and post it for fun! There is going to be more that unfolds with Karibi and Orochimaru, so we shall see!

Thanks for taking the time to read! Hope you enjoyed this little read!