I

An Unpleasant Visit

Blood.

The guy with bandages all over the face woke up disturbed. He wasn't sure what was happening. He looked around to found himself inside a hospital room. So he turned to the window. The landscape out there; that constructions… yes, he knew that place. It was Konoha.

"So you finally woke up, Dosu." — a calm voice came from the door.

There was a boy there, in the doorway, leaning against the wall. He had white, long hair; was wearing the headband of the Leaf Village and giving a not too sharp smile. The reflex on his glasses hid his eyes and gave him a different image than the one he had the first time they met. "And when was that?" — Thought Dosu. "Oh, sure. The veteran I bashed before the first stage of the Chunin Exams".

Looking at that guy now, it doesn't seem it would be so easy to beat him as it was before. There surely was something different on him. Something creepy.

"What do you want?" — asked Dosu, wary.

"You have some duties to perform, Dosu".

Dosu's eyes widened. Suddenly memory flashes blinked inside his head.

He remembered the night when he was on the roof; next to the accommodation where the sand team was installed. He was there to kill that red-haired boy, Gaara, so he would ensure he would fight Sasuke in the exam. And he was right in front of him.

But the things didn't go as expected. In a moment the sand began to involve Gaara; as if it was becoming part of him. That kid... he was just turning into a monstrous thing! The right side of his body was consumed by the sand, forming a big claw where his arm was before. Half of his face was still human-like, while the other was unspeakably horrendous. That was repugnant. What kind of freak was this?!

The Gaara-thing attacked. It was more savage than anything he had ever seen. The roof under him was totally destroyed as he approached. Dosu was so panicky he wasn't even able to react. When he came to himself, it was too late. The creature was already in front of him.

Next thing he remembered is of being lying down on the roof; covered by blood, unable to move a muscle and feeling an unbearable pain. So that white-haired boy appeared.

"Hmm… it's not so grave as I thought." — he said. "You still have chances."

Last thing Dosu remembered is the guy approaching his hands to his bloody body. The hands started to exhale chakra and the pain began to disappear. He fainted.

"Come on Dosu, your master is waiting for you" — said the white-haired guy; back in the Hospital room.

"Hmm… I see." — Dosu replied. "So you are one of the spies in the Leaf".

"You notice the things fast." — he smiled again. "My name is Kabuto. As you can see, we are in the same team here".

"Oh, are we? The problem is that I wasn't informed neither about you or about my real mission in the Forest of Death. It seems I wasn't informed about Gaara being the weapon of the sand, as well. It's he, it isn't?"

"You really notice the things fast. Yes, Gaara is the ultimate weapon. But you didn't have any order to involve with him, did you? You did it by your own. And about the mission in the Forest of Death: Orochimaru needed your team to be prepared to kill Sasuke. That's why you weren't told about your true objective there. However, if you had killed him, you would have completed your mission as well; since it would had proved Sasuke isn't the right one. So, I would not face it as a lie."

Dosu was thoughtful for some seconds.

"I'm not going with you". — he said.

"Hmm?"

"Orochimaru isn't my master anymore. I'm by my own now."

"I see. The fact is that you can't simply resign. Master Orochimaru have spent a lot of time and resources with you. You have a debt with him. Going out now would be considered betrayal."

He stared Kabuto for some time. Footsteps start coming from the hallway.

"Hmm… it looks like I have to go." — mourned Kabuto. "Well, we're gonna meet again". He threw a third smile. That was beginning to annoy Dosu.

A nurse come to the door.

"Oh, you're awake!" — she said.

Kabuto wasn't there anymore.

Dosu tried to get up, but a strong pain started to gnaw his chest. The nurse fastly approach.

"You can't get up by now! You're still much injured".

Dosu lied down again. Despite this, he knew he couldn't stay there for much longer, or he would be killed.