Because I'm a flute player. Partly inspired by the story of how Kabuto joined up with Orochimaru, though if you're not caught up with the manga, don't worry, this doesn't contain any spoilers. Tayuya may be a complete bitch, but she couldn't have always been so insulting. Naruto has a way of making the most horrible characters end up as lovable, so I tried to do that here. Please note that I was sleep deprived while writing it, and even more so now, when deciding to post it, so it probably isn't something that ever should've seen the light of day, and yet… Enjoy.

The pale silver glinted in the faint moonlight. Tiny fingerprints smudged the metal, stubbornly claiming their place on the surface, no matter how many times the faded blue cloth rubbed over them. The condensation on the inside of the slim metal disappeared with one quick swipe of her gloved hand, the vestiges of a day's work falling away like the last leaves left on a tree in winter.

Finally, even the fingerprints faded away into nothingness, leaving behind only a cold silver surface that shone in the moonlight. Off came the dirty glove and out came the soft grey blanket as Tayuya wrapped it around both her shoulders and her flute, then stood.

She walked slowly through the deserted streets, flute balanced on her shoulder. She moved with such ease the instrument didn't even tremble once from its precarious perch; it could have been a part of her, for all appearances. When she turned to avoid walking through the ruins of a school, the flute came with her, not even tilting slightly in one way or the other.

A bird flitted across her path, coming to rest on the ground next to her. Tayuya rubbed her flute unconsciously and resisted the urge to lift it and play. "Sorry. I just cleaned him. Tomorrow, ne?"

The bird looked almost forlorn, if birds could even possess such an emotion, and Tayuya bit her lip. "Sorry! I really can't. Sensei told me not to play it once I've cleaned it for the night."

And if bird's could talk, Tayuya knew what the creature would say to that.

So? Your sensei is dead.

But everyone was dead.

Tayuya turned once again, this time to avoid her parent's home. Or the charred remains of what was left.

The bird followed her stubbornly, chirping rather loudly. "Go away," Tayuya muttered. "Go away, you little… little… shit." She didn't know what the word meant, but she had heard her brother call tiny pre-genins the name when he wanted them to go away. And if she could follow her sensei's instructions, she could learn from her brother, too.

The bird chirped again. It was too loud. Tayuya rubbed her flute and bit her lip, suddenly feeling a bit guilty. The animal hadn't been hurting anyone, and she had just snapped out at it. Scratching the back of her head awkwardly, Tayuya glanced at her flute again, undecided.

Kashi-sensei had told her not to play her flute once she had cleaned it for the night. That it defeated the purpose of cleaning it. But he had also told her her music was to make people happy and protect them, and that took precedence over all else. That was rule number one.

"Okay. I'll play. Sorry I got angry," she apologized sheepishly. "Just let me go on to the river... my mouth's dry. Then I'll play all you want, all right?" Tayuya reached up to pull her too long scarlet hair back into a simply ponytail, tying it with a leather cord, the flute balanced on her shoulder the entire time as she continued to walk towards the river. "Sorry, Maka-niichan," she murmured, rubbing the cool metal in a way of an apology. "I'll clean you again, promise. We can rest soon, but we have to play one more time."

Tayuya continued her short journey to the river, feeling her stomach growl as she went. She bit her lip. She didn't like killing innocent creatures, and especially not the way she did, by luring them in with pretty pictures and then slicing their throats when they were distracted, but it was winter. There was nothing growing near by for her to pick and eat. And she couldn't just stop eating. Her mother had told her that, no matter what, she always had to find something to eat.

Once she had drunk a few mouthfuls of the cold, wintery water, Tayuya wiped her mouth and sat upright again, scrubbing her hands off on her pants so she wouldn't get Maka wet. Finally satisfied, she let Maka slip off her shoulder and raised it to her lips, back straight, eyes falling closed.

Her fingers moved lightly, dancing of their own accord, weaving a new melody that she had never heard before. And the music guided her thoughts, making her remember… remember…

Tayuya opened her eyes as she rolled up to a high note that sang out, and even with the familiar suck on her energy, the sight made her want to smile, want to smile so much so almost did.

A ghostly image of her father, her mother, her brother, her sensei, and herself. Kashi was handing her father a tiny flute, one big enough for the little girl she had once been, explaining to him to ensure that she practiced and that it was always clean. Her brother poked on her the shoulder, making fun with a casual grin, saying no real ninja would spend their days practicing a girly instrument like flute.

"Now, now, Arashi-kun. I don't only teach her how to play. I daresay she'll be able to throw a better kunai than you soon." At Arashi's indignant look, Kashi reached down to lightly ruffle both Tayuya's and Arashi's hair with a broad grin. "But she's just a little too nice to be a ninja. Likes to show you up, but doesn't want to hurt anybody. So, this flute is perfect for her. Takes the skills of an elite shinobi to master, but it's used for peace. Protects the village; makes everyone smile."

"Yeah! So there!" Tayuya exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm better than you, Arashi-niichan!"

Kashi and her parents laughed good-naturedly while Arashi stuck his tongue out right back at her.

Tayuya watched and wanted to laugh, wanted to smile, but instead waited until her happiness eclipsed and governed her breath, her fingers, and the scene drifted, shifting to become another.

Kashi was sitting next to little Tayuya, his own flute balanced on his left shoulder while Tayuya struggled to emulate him. "It's so hard! He doesn't want to balance!"

Kashi shrugged serenely, his flute not even twitching with the movement. "No, you just aren't very good friends with your flute yet. Come on, have you named him? Or her? Sasaro and I became much closer after I named him."

She shrugged carefully, groaning loudly when the movement dislodged the carefully balanced instrument off her shoulder. "He's definitely a boy. I don't know… I kind of like Maka. I've been calling him that for a few days and he feels like a Maka."

"Then that's what he is," Kashi said with a grin. "Now, just focus on Maka. It's like when you first learned how to play. It took you so long to find the right way to hold him to get a sound out, but once you had, you never lost it. It's the same here- it's a bit hard to find that perfect equilibrium spot for the both of you, but once you have, you won't forget it."

"Okay." Tayuya sat up straighter and carefully lifted Maka onto her shoulder again, fighting to balance him, her eyes narrow in concentration. When he slipped off the moment she let go, she groaned loudly again and flopped back onto the ground, catching Maka as he fell. "Damn it!"

Kashi grimaced. "I told your father to stop Arashi from teaching you new words."

"Huh? What's wrong with 'damn'? What does it mean?" she asked curiously.

Tayuya watched as Kashi just shook his head and instructed her to try it again. She watched as he helped guide her to finding the right position, holding her still while she tried to balance Maka. She watched until it hurt, until her heart actually hurt with a peculiar sting of longing and sadness that was so real it made her gasp, and the scene wavered at the break in the music, figures growing disjointed and colors growing a bit too stark and distinct, movements slowing.

And with the sadness in mind, she breathed again, playing once more.

The scene changed to be Kashi and her father, little Tayuya on Kashi's back with Maka balanced on her shoulder. "Go!" her father exclaimed harshly, pointing off over Kashi's shoulder. "Hurry! Let us fight them back!"

"I'm not taking her far," Kashi said as a warning, even as he turned away. "I'll be back soon."

"That's not important. What's important is you get her and that flute out of here. The enemy can not get that flute and they can not get her!"

Kashi nodded darkly. "I know."

"What's going on? What enemy?"

Kashi patted Tayuya on the wrist and squeezed her hand instantly, without a hint of indecision or worry in his calm expression. "Don't worry, Tayuya. Everything's going to be fine."

"Then why do we have to leave? I want to stay home! With Daddy! Why do I have to leave?!"

"…It's a… special training. Only we can go because it's for flute players, like us. Come on, don't cry, Tayuya. It'll be okay."

Her father nodded firmly. "Yes. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

And then there was a pang of anger, and she was seeing red, and then her eyes were filling with tears, because everything hadn't been fine, and-

The illusion splintered and broke as Tayuya gasped, reaching up to cradle her suddenly pounding head as her vision swam. She felt dizzy and was almost threw up right then and there, and the crowd of animals that had gathered, spellbound by her flute's power, scattered when she fell onto her side, lacking the strength to keep herself upright.

Tayuya wrapped her suddenly weak, trembling arms around Maka, growing even more afraid when she realized she barely had the strength do so. "Maka! Maka, what's happening? I don't… don't understand… I'm so scared… Maka!"

She cradled the flute against her neck and shut her eyes with a shudder, holding him close like he was a stuffed bear or a doll. Another wave of dizziness assaulted her, and then everything went black, but was that a hand touching her cheek…?

The voice spoke before Tayuya even realized she was awake.

"Oh? You're finally conscious? I was growing worried."

Tayuya froze.

The first human voice she had heard in… how many years had it been? It was low and serpentine and smooth, and with a hint of concern, and it made her panic. She felt Maka shift in her arms as opened her eyes, holding him close, and tried to sit upright, but was stopped by a terrible, encompassing soreness that made it almost impossible for her to move.

When she cried out and lay still, the voice spoke again. "Don't move much. It's been two days and you're young; you'll recover quickly. But you do need to still rest for a bit more."

Tayuya blinked. The voice was kind and confident; the slight hiss made it sound as if belonged to some very dark, very evil man, but any man who tried to care of her like he seemed to be couldn't by very bad, could he? She shifted, realizing that she was under a blanket she hadn't been before, and searched for the speaker.

Sitting across the fire from her was a grown man, skin an unhealthy pallor with long, silkily black hair that could've passed for a woman's rather easily. His eyes, like his voice, were surprising snakelike, with golden, serpentine pupils and pale purple markings outlining them and giving his face an ageless appearance. Clothed in a simple, all black uniform that only brought out his paleness even further, he watched her with a carefully controlled expression, one that betrayed no emotion but didn't seem unkind.

She must have appeared confused, because he gestured at Maka and began to explain. "I was passing through and saw you playing. It was quite good; you are very talented. But you can not cast genjutsu without Chakra, and you went too far. You depleted your Chakra to a dangerous level and have been unconscious for two days."

Tayuya stared at the strange man, slack jawed. He had used some very big words and she felt a little stupid asking what they meant, but she wanted to know what had happened. "…Genjutsu? …Chakra?"

The man's strange eyes widened for a split second. "You were casting genjutsu, and you don't even know what Chakra is? Tell me, child, who was your sensei? You must have had one, to progress your illusions to such a degree. You weren't even trying, and you even had me under for a moment."

Tayuya bit her lip and looked away. "…Kahsi-sensei. He was who taught me how to play."

"Hmm… did this Kashi ever warn you about playing flute for too long?"

"Um… yeah. He told me not to play for me than four hours a day. But, well… that was a long time ago. I can play for a lot longer now."

"Ah. Perhaps, it is a bit unadvisable for you to try and play for so long. You see, you and your flute are special. You can use it to cast gen- illusions. But that takes energy; energy we call Chakra. And you only have a finite amount of Chakra. If you spend it without being careful, you can faint, even be bedridden for weeks- but, don't worry. I'd estimate that you'd be up and about in a few days."

"Oh." Tayuya shifted under the blanket and scratched her head. The man's explanation had been a bit technical, but she thought she had follow it. On an impulse, she looked back over at him and cleared her throat. "I'm Tayuya."

He nodded. "Orochimaru."

She noticed how he neglected to give a clan name, as she had, though he didn't seem to be mocking her. She smiled slightly. "Okay. Oroc… Orori… um, sorry. I'm still tired, I think. What was your name again?"

He chuckled quietly. "Perhaps you should just call me Oro."

She nodded brightly. That, she could pronounce. "Okay, Oro."

"For now."

Suddenly, she brightened. "You seem nice. Can I call you Oro-chan?"

"Can you not."

Undaunted, she pressed on. "How about Oro-niisan?"

He looked at her in disbelief, but when she just continued to smile, he sighed in defeat and looked back at his feet. "…Fine."

Tayuya grinned. "Good. Thanks, Oro-niisan."

Oro sighed gruffly and stood, moving with a silent grace as he swept over to her, holding out a small canteen. "Here. Drink. You need to stay hydrated to recover."

"Okay." She obediently accepted the water with one hand and drank, cradling Maka to her side with the other. This didn't escape his notice.

"You know, most children your age claim a stuffed bear or a silly doll or something a bit… softer as their security blanket."

She shrugged. "Maka's been with me for four years. Plus, he's all that's left now."

Oro's odd eyes narrowed slightly as she handed the canteen back, and he stowed it away in his pack. "Where did everyone else go, Tayuya?"

She frowned deeply. "…They… went away. Those motherfuckers killed them."

He blinked, seeming a little taken aback. "That's harsh language for a child your age."

Averting her eyes nervously, Tayuya blushed, reaching up with her free hand to scratch the back of her head awkwardly. "I'm sorry… I don't know what it means. I heard my sensei call them that, that's all. Is it a bad word? I'm sorry, I won't use it again."

To her surprise, Oro chuckled. "I didn't mean to imply that. You should. Makes you stand out and seem bold."

"What does that word mean, Oro-niisan?"

He grimaced. "…Well, literally, it means someone who slept with his mother."

"Like, took a nap with her?" She frowned. "Why would Kashi-sensei call the enemy that?"

"It doesn't actually… you know, I'll teach you someday, if you really like. It doesn't matter now."

She perked up at that. "What?"

Oro nodded and leaned back against the tree, gazing aimlessly at the morning sky. "You have a peculiar skill, with that flute of yours. I quite enjoyed listening to you play earlier. But the genjutsu- the images you showed- were disturbing. Am I right in assuming that someone killed your parents and your brother? Your Kashi-sensei?"

Tayuya bit her lip and looked away, holding Maka even tighter.

"Ah. I'm sorry to hear that. But loss is not necessarily a bad thing."

She blinked. He gave her a slight smile, or perhaps just showed his teeth, she couldn't really tell, and licked his lips with an impossibly long tongue, as if preparing himself for a long-winded explanation. "Well, let me see. And old friend of mine, Tsunade, lost her younger brother. What happened to him gave her the motivation to train, to find strength. She's now the most famed medical ninja in all of the Five Great Nations. And Jiraiya, someone else who I used to be acquainted with… well, he's a long story. …Are they dead?"

"What?"

Oro watched her unblinkingly. "The men who killed your family. Are they dead?"

She shifted again and remained silent.

"Do you want them to die?"

Tayuya stiffened and bit her lip so hard it bled.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Tayuya. Death is a normal wish, for a shinobi. And I can help you get your wish."

"A ninja?" she asked, startled. "But… I'm not a ninja."

He chuckled harshly. "You cast genjutsu like one, Tayuya. And you're young. You can learn. Quickly, I bet."

Tayuya hesitated. She gripped Maka a little tighter and shifted uneasily, then jumped as Oro stood up abruptly, lightly dusting himself off and rolling up his sleeves. "Oro-niisan?"

"Why don't you stay down there, Tayuya." It was clearly not a question, but an oder, and he shifted slightly, moving into a crouch. "This will only take a moment."

"Wha-"

Tayuya's surprised question died on her lips when, out of what had to literally be nowhere, a team of four descend upon the small clearing, all dressed in identical olive green uniforms and grasping katana in their gloved hands. They ignored her entirely, all turned to Oro with their weapons raised, their dark eyes narrowed in anger.

Her eyes widened in terror and she turned to Oro, and she felt her panicked heart calm, if only slightly, when she saw he wasn't frightened in the slightest. "Oh? Only four? Frankly, I'm insulted."

One of the intruders- with the brightest red hair she'd ever seen, almost the same shade as her own- took a slight step forward, tightening his grip on his katana. "We're not here for you, but we'll kill you if we have to."

"Ouch. Now I'm very insulted."

The redhead shook his in disgust. "We want that flute. What, do you want it, too? Do you really want to fight us for it?"

Oro blinked, then straightened up out of his crouch, his head titled to the side slightly, as if confused. "What? Are you daft? The instrument is worth nothing."

"Not to us."

"Heh." Oro rolled his eyes and shook his head, seeming very amused. "I can't believe I'm going to waste my time with such low-level shinobi as yourselves. That thing is made with a metal mined from the same location as the material used to make Chakra blades. You could make a dozen of them; the flute is worthless without the girl."

"Well, then we'll just take both. Thanks for the information."

Oro frowned sourly. "I didn't exactly tail you for two months to have you get the prize. And, might I add that it took you two days to catch up with me- I got bored with your pace, and your destination was growing blindingly obvious. I hope you make this fight worth the wait."

"Well, you're an arrogant one, aren't you?" The redhead growled, then spat at his feet. "Four versus one. I don't care if you're this supposed Snake Sannin; you're still just one guy. You can't do a thing against us four."

Tayuya's eyes widened and looked back to Oro as he gave a despondent sigh and shook his head again. "Has the name of the Sannin really been degraded so much? Entire armies have fled before the three before. Perhaps I'm only one third of the act, but I've long since surpassed the other two."

"Enough of this! Everyone, go!"

Tayuya's eyes couldn't keep up. One moment, the five were at a standoff, the next, the four in green had jumped in action, running to attack Oro. She flinched and turned away, letting out a horrified scream-

And then it was over. The redhead had pinned Oro to the ground, katana at his throat, the others crouched around them with their weapons still raised, ready to pounce at an moment. Their leader narrowed his eyes, then laughed. "Is that it, legendary Sannin? Pssh. I knew it. You were all talk." He gestured at Tayuya with his foot and ordered, "You three, get the girl and the flute."

Tayuya jumped back, scrambling away from them even as the three moved forward, one easily grabbing her by her collar and lifting her up into the air. She tried to kick him, but he just held her out too far away to anything besides a tree. "You little shits!" she yelled. "Let me go! Get off of me!"

"Oh? Harsh language for such a little girl. Don't tempt me, or I'll teach you a lesson."

"Little shit!" she repeated, trying to kick him again. "Let Oro-niisan go! Go away!"

The redhead sighed, aggravated. "She's a loud one. The journey home's gonna suck. Especially with this annoying snake guy."

"Boss, he's in the bingo book, you know. Pretty nice bounty…"

Tayuya didn't know what that meant, but she knew it wasn't good when the leader grinned and nicked Oro's chin with his blade. "That's true… one prisoner and one dead body would be easier to take care of. Our orders were to kill no one, only incapacitate… but his body would be heavy. Can't be faulted for brining home a paycheck and not dead weight, after all."

Tayuya froze. She stared in horror as, with a cruel chuckle, the redhead raised his blade and brought it swinging down to Oro's neck.

"Oro-niisan!"

The cold steel sliced cleanly through flesh, tissue, and bone, colliding with the ground below with a sickening crack.

In the silence that followed, Tayuya was certain she could hear his blood hit the ground.

And then Oro smiled.

His head, unattached to his body, smiled.

"Just kidding."

And then Tayuya blinked, and when she opened her eyes, all four of their attackers were suddenly incapacitated, bound with writhing black snakes, and Oro was still smiling. "Thank you. I had a slight itch in my neck, but it's gone now," he said to the one who had tried to behead him, who was still leaning over him, frozen, eyes wide in terror. Tayuya barely heard him, though; she couldn't tear her eyes away from his severed neck and his still unattached head.

Oro hissed slightly, his long tongue emerging and licking the blood that had sprayed up from his neck from his chin as a thick swarm of snakes emerged from his severed neck, reaching up and pulling the head back towards its body. If possible, Tayuya's eyes grew even wider at the almost nauseating sight.

Oro tsked as he stood, cracking his neck as he did so. "I'm disappointed. That wasn't even fun. Now I'm very insulted; not only did you think just four would be enough against me, but four of your caliber?"

Tayuya just stared, shaking. She felt the blood drain from her face as she watched Oro dust himself off and stared at his now flawless neck, and found herself terrified at the thought that there were snakes hidden just beneath his skin.

As if he sensed her fear, Oro glanced at her in surprise, then gave a cold smile that made her shiver. "Don't worry, Tayuya. I was just playing dead. You four, now-"

"We won't tell you a thing! Torture us all you want; we won't talk!"

Oro closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if annoyed, and let out a vexed sigh. He turned to the leader, still bound by the hissing snakes, and smiled slightly, leaning forward until their faces were separated by less than an inch. "Oh, I doubt that. I can do things… make you feel things… that you would not believe." He hissed quietly, his tongue slipping out from impossibly white teeth to touch the redhead's cheek. He shivered.

And then Oro pulled back, withdrawing his inhuman tongue. "Luckily for you, it's not information I want. Just live, fit bodies. And you look the part. Hmm… if you don't mind, could you tell Kabuto that since I've gone to the trouble of procuring five lab rats, could he take care to not experiment them to death at the first opportunity?"

Tayuya shivered. This didn't sound like the Oro who had helped her drink and smiled at her and told him she could call him niisan. This Oro… he sounded cold. Cruel. Heartless.

Like a murderer.

She stared in terror as the snakes binding the men enlarged, becoming as massive as a man and reigning up over the victims, swallowing them whole with a loud hiss. All she heard was a scream, and then they were gone, and the snakes hissed again before they vanished with a puff of smoke.

Tayuya stared.

Oro dusted himself before he turned and walked slowly over to her, his hands in his pockets. "That was a fun show, eh?"

She whimpered.

Oro grimaced slightly and turned back to the fire, his hands moving so fast they were a blur. A gentle spray of water emerged from his fingertips and doused the small blaze. It was almost mesmerizing to watch the tiny waterfall cascade down from his hands- especially since she had half been expecting snakes to burst out from under his skin.

Just like that. No freaky snakes, no long tongues, no bodiless heads talking- the same man she had woken up to only a few minutes previously. "Suppose I should offer an explanation, Tayuya," he murmured when the fire had been extinguished, turning back to face her, his face now a blank, expressionless mask."Those men were from a certain organization, Tayuya. They've been tracking you for almost four months; I only found you by following them. They are members of the group who massacred your family."

Her heart nearly stopped.

She must've looked shocked, because Oro nodded with a curiously blank, uncaring look on his face. "Your village was once more than a little well known for the man who could use sound to cast genjutsu. That man was your Kashi's sensei. The art has been passed down through generations to you, though many believe it is the flute itself, and not the player, that is the secret- as you just saw. That organization I mentioned? They were after your flute when they attacked the village. Your parents knew this. That's why they sent you away; it was to protect you. I'm assuming that, by the time you found your way back to the village, the men searching for your flute had already moved on to search elsewhere, correct?"

Tayuya swallowed and held Maka closer. This couldn't be true. It was impossible. How did he know all these things? He just didn't, he was just wrong, there could be no other explanation.

She heard herself answer in a numb voice, but couldn't, couldn't, couldn't understand it. Oro couldn't be right, because if he was, then…

"Yes. Kashi-sensei told me… he took me far away and told me that if he didn't come back in a week, to go away and hide Maka from everyone. That I couldn't go back home. But…"

"But you came back here anyway."

She nodded weakly. "I had to know. I thought Kashi-sensei and Ka-chan and Tou-chan and Arashi-niisan were here! I didn't want to go away, I didn't want to hide Maka, but I… I…"

Oro sighed, and when she looked back into his eyes, she almost thought he understood. "What did you do when you found out what really happened? Why didn't you leave, like Kashi told you to?"

"I couldn't. I couldn't, Oro-niisan. I didn't want to hide Maka and I didn't want you to go and be alone; I didn't want to leave home! I'm sorry, I know that Sensei told me to, but I didn't want to! Playing makes me happy and if I'd left I wouldn't have been able to play! I would've been alone and I… and I…"

Mercifully, Oro let the tears in her eyes pass without comment and merely nodded again. "So, you've continued to play, all this time, because it makes you happy?"

She bit her lip. It wasn't until he asked the question that she'd realized the answer wasn't a yes. "Well, um… not exactly…"

"Oh?"

She shrugged. "I don't know… well, Kashi-sensei told me I had to play to protect people. But there was no one to protect. So I didn't play, at first. But I… I really wanted to see my parents again, so I…" Tayuya ducked her head, embarrassed, and continued in a small voice. "I knew I could make people see things, so I tried to make myself see them. And it worked, but all the animals around here, they really liked it to. And, I guess it was… nice. Kind of like back when everything was okay, and people would clap when I played. It was like the animals were giving me applause or something, and then I couldn't stop… I had to keep playing. For them. I just… I just couldn't…"

"You wanted to feel needed."

Oro had somehow managed to put into words her exact feelings, feelings she hadn't known had to vocalize. She nodded mutely and he smiled, letting out a soft hiss. "Tayuya, if you come with me, you'll be needed. I need you."

She looked around at the carnage left by his snakes doubtfully. "But, niisan, you-"

"I can't play that flute like you, Tayuya. Your skills are invaluable. You may not have been trained as a ninja, but I can fix that. And, before long, I can guarantee that you will become a force to be reckoned with. I need you to help me. I can help you take revenge on those men and their group, if that's what you want, but I need you, Tayuya. I have my own dreams. Dreams you can help me with."

She hesitated. It would be very nice to be needed. And Oro had protected her without a second thought when the men had attacked…

She didn't know whether it was just the fact that she had gone so long without human contact or if there was something special about him, but, suddenly, she didn't want him to go.

Or, if he had to go, she wanted him to take her with him.

"Please, Oro-niisan! Take me with you! I promise I won't let you down!"

Oro grinned and hissed again, and she was beginning to wonder if he was just doing it to be threatening or if he really was a snake. "That's good, Tayuya." He abruptly turned and knelt, looking over his shoulder at her. "Now, come on. Hurry. I've wasted enough time here."

"Wha…?"

"You're too tired to walk, and we need to get moving."

Tayuya grinned. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he stood swiftly, turning to leave the clearing. "…Thanks, Oro-niisan."

"We're going to have to do something about how you pronounce my name."