Summary: Kabuto, a sixteen year old orphan, has just been transferred to a strange new place. There he meets the owner of the facility and Biology teacher, Orochimaru, a twenty-eight year old with a tragic past. What happens when the two start to realize they like one another, far more than they should?
Warning/Disclaimer: Naruto and the characters from it are all property of Masashi Kishimoto. Not me. This story also contains yaoi, violence, some language, sexual content in later chapters, and other things I can't seem to remember right now. OrochimaruXKabuto pairing. Sensitive material, such as an age difference, not to mention they are both men. Also, this is an AU. Yeah.
"Why are we moving?" Orochimaru asked from the back seat of the car. The ten year old boy was squished between two rather large suit-cases in the back seat of his father's van. His longer than average, black hair flowed to just past his shoulders, bouncing healthily with every bump along the older road. He had a calm, slightly tired expression, golden eyes drooping ever so slightly. His oddly pale skin stood out vividly against the dark material of his shirt and pants, almost making him glow in the dark, barely lit cavern of their car.
His father stayed completely silent, having to focus all his energy on staying awake. It was a quiet night, and the gentle glow of the moon combined with the dark outline of trees and a starry sky were practically lulling the already tired man to sleep. The boys mother smiled weakly, looking back at her son, and replied with a soft,"We just decided that it would be best to try somewhere new, Oro."
The young boy had started to fiddle with his thumbs, looking down. His midnight hair had fallen over his face, cloaking it from view,"Is it because of what happened in school? Is it because I'm not like everyone else? Is it my fault?" His voice was barely above a whisper, and if it was not for the quiet, constant road he would probably have been near impossible to hear.
His mother frowned, her entire form drooping. She hated seeing the boy so upset. She knew all too well that if others would simply take the time to get past his feminine appearance they would see there was more to him than they thought. The last school had been terrible. They had left purely for safety reasons, after the teasing had taken a violent turn for the worse.
"It's not your fault, Orochimaru... Things will get better... I promise..."
Suddenly, a pair of head lights showed up from around the corner, shortening the distance between the two cars at unimaginable speed. The shriek of brakes pierced the air, but did nothing to stall the two vehicles.
Bending of metal and the grinding of steel rang out into the cool night air as the two cars blended in a violent explosion. Black oil mixed with scarlet tears as shattered glass sliced through the air in a twisted dance of destruction. Hunks of steel flipped through the air, turning with the automobiles they were dangling from, off of the road and into the nearby trees. Cracking of wood and bone rang out through the air, combining with the groan of steel to create a horrid melody.
Silence soon took reign over the area again, all but a sickening dripping of tainted, blackish-red liquid. The scene was something from a horror film. Twisted, practically unidentifiable carnage, one car shattered beyond recognition, the other on its' back.
A few seconds passed before a quiet groan could be heard from within the wreckage, soon followed by a few muffled, noises as debris were weakly pushed out of the way. Eventually an almost unrecognizable form crawled out though a shattered window, blood streaming down his face, and clumping in his hair as stickily as honey. One arm dragged awkwardly, obviously broken hideously. It seemed like an eternity before Orochimaru's small form was able to pull itself halfway from the wreckage.
Then he noticed something odd. Through the metallic stench of blood resided another, even more sinister, smell. Smoke. Smoke meant fire...
Suddenly, thrust into a panic, he scrambled blindly in an attempt to free himself from the twisted wreckage. Finally pulling himself free with his one good arm, adrenaline giving him strength, he scrambled pathetically to his feet.
Only when he was out did it sink in. His parents were no were to be found. They still hadn't gotten out yet. The fire that had been almost unnoticeable a minute ago was now slowly consuming the wreckage.
"Mom!... Dad!... Come out!... Don't leave me!..."
-_-_-_-_-18 Years Later_-_-_-_-
"It really won't be so bad as you think it will be, nothing ever is," were the final parting words of the elderly cab driver, before the back door was shut and he drove off. A very unhappy looking sixteen year old was left standing just where the taxi had previously been, holding a worn, tan backpack with the name 'Kabuto' sewn into the strap. The glasses perched on his nose were round, and obviously not of a modern style, hiding his deep black eyes. His silver hair was pulled back into a pony-tail, all except his bangs and one stray strand dangling annoyingly in his face. Other than the odd silver tint to his hair, he was an average looking boy. Not overly fit and pretty, but not all together geeky either. His purple shirt was just the right size and his baggy jeans were kept up with a worn white belt.
Kabuto simply turned from the road to see what he had come here for. It was a rather large, almost castle-like building. The walls were all made from some form of dull gray stone, and the roofs were black as pitch. The cloudy sky gave the area an almost eerie feel, and Kabuto could already tell that it would be a spooky place to be at night. There was a large green yard, and stone walls surrounded the area. There were a few areas that looked to be gardens, connected with stone paths, located randomly about the place, probably in some attempt to make the area seem more welcoming. The effect was ruined tragically, though, by the large sign by the main gate that read in a formal print 'The sound hearts orphanage and boarding school for teens'.
The silver haired teenager sighed, walking up the gravel path towards the large building he was doomed to stay in for lord knows how long. The last place had only lasted about a month, after being shut down for child abuse. He wondered how long this would last. The building looked professional enough, and the group of boys playing soccer to the left showed that this place would probably be the last home he would be forced to stay at until he was old enough to live by himself in the states eyes. He knew he wouldn't be getting adopted. He had quite a few tricks to make sure nothing annoying such as that would happen.
He was greeted at the door by a busty, blond woman with light brown eyes and some odd purple mark on her fore-head. Her long hair was pulled into two pig-tails dangling loosely down her back. She smiled one of the most rehearsed, plastic smiles she could conger up, and said in a sickeningly sweet voice,"Hello. You must be Kabuto. My name is Tsunade, and it's my pleasure to welcome you here. Please follow me, and I'll show you to your new room so you can drop off your things."
Kabuto just blinked once and said,"You don't have to give me the rehearsed crap, I can see right through it. Besides, it's not like anyone else is here."
Tsunade simply smirked, and said in a more natural tone,"Wise guy, huh? Fine, just follow me."
He did as instructed, walking along behind her in a bored, lackadaisical way. Glancing around he discovered that, although the outside of the building had reminded the boy of a haunted house, or some European castle he had seen in a book, the inside was rather nice. It was far from homey, but it didn't scream 'orphanage' like most of the places he had been had.
As they walked down the hallway they would occasionally pass a worker or another teen. There was thing Kabuto became aware of pretty quickly. All of these people were strange. At one point they had even passed two boys that seemed to be conjoined twins. Truly strange.
Both Kabuto and Tsunade remained silent as they walked though the maze-like halls. At one point the silver haired teen wondered how exactly he was expected to find his way around such a confusing place. It would take a while before he figured out how to get from point A to point B.
After a few minutes of walking along the hallways and up two staircases they came to a hallway lined with doors on either side, all made from wood and identically built. It would probably be a correct assumption that these were the rooms the residents were to stay in. Kabuto couldn't help but to wander just how many others he would have to share a room with in this place. The last place had kept ten to a single room. A small frown found it's way onto his face at the memory. Simply put it hadn't been a fun experience, especially for someone as naturally solitary as himself.
Tsunade walked to the fifth door on the left, pulling out a key and pointing the direction of the door. The blond woman simply tossed the small golden key to the teen in a bored fashion, stating flatly,"You'll be staying here. You got lucky too, no roommate." With that she walked off, leaving the boy alone.
Although it didn't show on the outside, the silver-haired teen was elated at the news. It would be his first room to himself since his parents had passed on. A subtle smirk formed on his face, as he walked over to his new room, unlocking it with a single graceful movement. He then gently pushed against the wood, opening the door just enough to see everything inside.
It was not a large room, but not altogether small either. The walls were tan in color and very basic. The floor was made up of a dark grained wood that looked to have been installed rather recently, seeing as it still shone like glass. There were two wooden doors almost identical to the main one off to the left side of the room, probably leading to a bathroom and closet. A large four paned window with purple curtains was located on the far side of the room, openly visible to the entry way of the door, just above a basic twin bed. The bed had a wooden frame, similar to the floor boards, and was covered in purple sheets. The only apparent light source in the room, other than the window, was a small metal lamp sitting atop a dark, wooden desk.
Kabuto couldn't help but to wonder who exactly chose the design of the room. The heavy usage of purple and dark grain wood was certainly a bit odd, but still somewhat stylish. Rather uncommon for an orphanage room.
The sixteen year old closed the door behind him and started to lay out what few worldly possessions he bothered to keep, which consisted mostly of clothes and books. One particular item he pulled from his bag, though, stood out amongst the rest. It was a scalpel, about six or so inches in length. There was a plastic cover over the sharpened edge and it appeared to have a name of some sorts engraved into the handle. The silver haired teen slipped the internment into his pocket, putting it within easy reach if he were to need it. The gift had saved him from an unpleasant situation more than once, and he tended to keep it with him at all times.
Just as he slipped the steel object into his pocket there was a knock at his door. Letting out a sigh, Kabuto walked over and opened it to reveal a teenage boy with hair as white as snow and tired, pale green eyes. The boy also seemed to have red eye-liner on and two red dots on his forehead, probably birthmarks.
"My name is Kimimaro. I was sent to escort you to Orochimaru's office," He said in a quiet voice. Kabuto simply nodded in response and fallowed behind calmly as Kimimaro lead him through the twisting hallways.
Eventually the two reached a slightly larger and more detailed wooden door. Kimimaro reached out a hand, pushing the door open slightly,"Orochimaru, sir, I retrieved the new resident." A light chuckle could be heard from inside and a hiss-like voice said,"Good. Let the boy in." Kimimaro opened the door completely, allowing Kabuto to enter, before walking off down the hallway.
Inside, the room was decorated heavily with scattered certificates hung prettily against the walls, along with a few bookcases, all filled to the brim with various books. In the center of the room were two seats facing towards a solid oak desk. Even with all of the rather distracting items about the room the man sitting at the desk stood out vividly. Long, straight midnight hair framed a morbidly pale face, graced by a wide grin. The man wore a basic, but very flattering tan suit with a purple tie and even appeared to be sporting a pair of blue earrings. This mans' most noticeable feature, though, were his eyes. They shone a bright gold, eerily similar to those of a serpent. His gaze was focused, unwavering, and the silver haired teen was unable to suppress the shiver that ran up his spine. Obviously this man was Orochimaru.
Another sinister chuckle escaped the mans' pale lips as he said smoothly,"Kabuto, is it? Please, do have a seat." A graceful hand gestured towards the seats in front of the desk and the silver haired teen sat down, pushing his glassed slightly higher on his nose with a swift movement. Orochimaru reclined slightly into his chair, his hands clasped together just above his chest, and said coolly,"If you haven't already figured it out, my name is Orochimaru. I am, I guess you could call it, the leader of this facility. I also work as one of the teachers here, and I enjoy welcoming all newcomers, and getting to know them personally."
The light hiss in his voice was just enough to put the teenage boy on edge. Kabuto couldn't figure out why but every word this man said seemed to send chills up his spine. He nodded ever so slightly in a form of response, wondering just what Orochimaru meant by 'getting to know' him better.
"So, Kabuto, how are you feeling today? Do you like it here?" Orochimaru asked in his serpentine tone, starring straight through the silver haired boy.
Kabuto remained as emotionless, and calm as he could, answering simply with,"It's very nice around here. I think I'll like it."
The pale man chuckled, and seemed to be about to ask another question when a knock at the door interrupted him. The door opened about a foot as a certain big-chested, blond woman peeked in,"Sorry to interrupt, Orochimaru, but I gotta talk to you about something. Now."
He simply ran a hand though his long black hair, letting out a sigh. Orochimaru then looked directly at Kabuto, ginning wide, sadistically,"Well then, it looks like we'll have to continue this conversation some other time. I'll see you soon, Kabuto."
Authors Notes: For anyone confused about the beginning scene, it's basically just a flashback of Oro-kuns' childhood. I kinda had to add it for the rest of the story to make any sense at all. ^^' I've been wanting to do an OroKabu story for a while now, but never got around to it. Also, just a side note, I really wanted to have Orochimaru wearing some outrageous purple velvet suit, kinda like the jokers. XD But, sanity took over and I decided against it. LOL. This is probably the only thing I will be working on for a long time, simply because each chapter takes so fucking long to write out and then edit. I hope you guys like it!
(Just a random little fact- the only reason I named this story 'Let go' Is because it was originally inspired by the song Let Go by Frou frou. It's a beautiful song.)